Latest news with #MarySkupski
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tennis star and Liverpool fan Neal Skupski suffers double heartbreak as his grandmother dies on the same day as Diogo Jota's tragic death at 28
Three-time Wimbledon champion and lifelong Liverpool fan Neal Skupski suffered a double heartbreak as he learned that his grandmother had passed away on the same day Reds striker Diogo Jota was killed in a car crash. The 35-year-old, who has won both the men's and mixed doubles titles, was given the crushing news that his 98-year-old nan Mary had died as he came off Court 8 following their three-set first-round victory with Joe Salisbury. 'It's been a tough day,' said Skupski. 'I found out this morning that Jota had passed away and then I just found out my nan had passed today as well, so it's been a very tough day. 'She was a fighter. She'd been ill for a little bit of time but it's just a tough time, obviously, in middle of Wimbledon. She'd have been proud of me for what happened today, us fighting through.' Skupski, who gets told Liverpool scores when he's on court and gets up at 3am to watch matches if he's on the other side of the world, said he found out on Thursday morning on social media about Jota's death as the news of his crash broke on Spanish media. 'It was a bit strange,' he added. 'You look at it, you're on Twitter (now X), and you see something like a headline about Jota in Spanish, and you don't know what it was, but it's along the lines of 'accident' and it's in black and white. So it was like, has he actually really died? 'You always think your heroes or sportspeople you look up to are invincible but it just shows that everyone is human and things come at you, you don't know what's around the corner.' Wimbledon will relax their strict all-white dress code to allow players to wear black armbands in respects to Jota. Skupski brought one with him and considered wearing it but decided against it. 'I had one today, I thought of wearing it but I thought maybe not, I didn't think it was…with my nan…I didn't want to wear it but it the coming days I might.' Portuguese doubles player Franciso Cabral, who grew up in the same city as Jota in Porto and had mutual acquaintances, will wear a black armband when he plays his next game. 'He's such an idol, such an icon, such a good person,' said Cabral. Skupski has previously visited Liverpool's training ground to meet the team and played padel with former manager Jurgen Klopp. 'I've spoke to some people today who are connected to Liverpool and they say Diogo was not just an amazing footballer but an incredible person, so down to earth, someone that kept the whole dressing room together. He's going to be a big loss for Liverpool.'
The Sun
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Brit Wimbledon star Neal Skupski, 35, finds out his grandmother has died just minutes after leaving court
NEAL SKUPSKI found out his beloved grandmother died minutes after his opening Wimbledon win. Britain's leading doubles star, 35, and partner Joe Salisbury fought hard to beat fellow Brits Joshua Paris and Charles Broom 6-3 5-7 6-4 in round one of the men's doubles competition. 3 Once he stepped off Court 8, the bad news was relayed to him by close family members that his 98-year-old granny Mary – who had been ill for a while and was in hospital – had passed away. It had already been a difficult day for Skupski, a big Liverpool fan, given the tragic death of Diogo Jota. Skupski, 2023 Wimbledon men's doubles champion, said: 'I have just found out that my nan passed today. So, it has been a very tough day. 'I found out once I came off court. About 30 minutes ago. She was 98. She was a fighter. Had been ill for a little bit of time. 'She didn't die out of the blue. I have been able to come to terms with it. She was coming to the end. It's part of life. It will be a tough few days for my family. 'We had known it was a matter of time for a few days now. It was tough to find out when I'd come off court. But I will be okay. 'She would want me to be here. She would be proud of what happened and how we fought. 'Maybe my mood has changed a bit coming up to these Championships. I'm probably quite bubbly on the practice courts, with good energy. 'Maybe the team had thought and seen I was not myself. People like my brother and coach, he spoke to some of the coaches, he maybe told them the situation. It's Wimbledon now, it's my job. 'She would have wanted me to have fought. We are here and want to win the whole thing. Being on the court will take my mind off it. 'My nan was a massive supporter of me. I spent the most time growing up with her. She was the closest grandparent I had.' On Thursday, the All England Club announced it would relax its strict all-white rules in light of the Jota tragedy so people could wear black armbands in tribute. Skupski – who had been to the Liverpool training HQ and even played padel there – is considering donning one for his next appearance. The three-time Wimbledon doubles champion said: 'It's been a tough day for Liverpool fans. I found out this morning that Jota had passed away. 'A bit strange this morning. You're on Twitter and see a headline about Jota in Spanish. But it's along the lines of 'accident' and it's in black-and-white. 'Has he actually died? You think your heroes or sportsmen or people you look up to, they're invincible. 3 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19 'It shows everyone's human. Things come at you. You don't know what is around the corner. 'It was really tough to take. Him and his brother. A tough one for his whole family. He got married a few weeks ago. He has three kids. 'My condolences go out to his family. It must be heartbreaking for them at the moment. The more privacy they get the better. 'When I was at Liverpool, I met the whole team. Diogo was there. I spoke to some people today who are connected to Liverpool and they say, not only was he an amazing footballer, but he was so down-to-earth. 'A great finisher. But also someone who kept the whole dressing room together, making it run so smoothly. 'It will be a big loss for Liverpool. I am sure they will do something in their memory.'
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon star Neal Skupski given heartbreaking news moments after doubles win
British tennis player Neal Skupski was given the heartbreaking news that his grandmother had died just moments after his opening-round doubles win at Wimbledon. The 34-year-old was informed of his grandmother's death after leaving the court with partner Joe Salisbury following their victory over fellow Britons Jacob Fearnley and Charles Broom 6-3 3-6 6-3. Neal, from Liverpool, had already been left shaken ahead of the match following the death of football player Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash in Spain overnight. READ MORE: First Diogo Jota crash site photos emerge after Liverpool star and brother killed in Lamborghini tragedy READ MORE: Tesco announces major checkout change being rolled out across stores Speaking after the win, Neal said: "I found out this morning that Jota had passed away, and then I just found out my nan has just passed today as well. So yeah, it's been a very tough day. 'She was 98 – she was a fighter, she'd been a little bit ill for a while. We've known it was a matter of time for a few days now, but it was a bit tough to take once I found out when I came off court.' Neal described his grandmother Mary as the grandparent he was closest to growing up. He added: 'She would've wanted me to be here and she'd be proud of me for what happened today, fighting through. 'It was just a bit tough to take when I found out when we got off court.' Neal had spoken earlier of being affected after learning about Jota's death this morning. He said: "You never think your heroes or sportsmen you look up to – you think they're invincible, but it just shows that everyone's human. It's really tough to take.' Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva were killed in a car crash in Spain on Wednesday night. Paying tribute to Neal, teammate Joe said: "Neal's done a great job – most people wouldn't really know. Once you step on court, you try and focus, but this really puts things in perspective.' Neal said that playing helped him cope, adding: 'Walking on to the tennis court is only going to help me – there's more to life than missing tennis shots.' Neal is a three-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2023 Wimbledon Championships in men's doubles, and the 2021 and 2022 Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles.
