Latest news with #SanDiegoOpen
Daily Mirror
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Annabel Croft, 58, shares 'exciting' baby news - 'I'm looking forward to it'
Strictly Come Dancing star Annabel Croft shared some exciting baby news as she discussed her love for her family in a recent interview Strictly Come Dancing star Annabel Croft revealed she's becoming a grandmother as her daughter Amber is due to give birth to her first child with husband Hector in September. The 58-year-old said she's "looking forward to enjoying every second of it" as she discussed her loving family. While Amber, 31, is waiting to give birth, Annabel's son Charlie, 29, will be marrying Boodles heiress Honour Wainwright in August. Her younger daughter Lily, 27, lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with her partner of five years, Felix. Speaking of becoming a grandmother, Annabel said: "It's given us something so positive to look forward to." The former tennis player said all her children have "wonderful partners" and the family all love spending time with each other. 'I'm really excited to become a grandmother," she said to Hello!"When you have children yourself, it's such a whirlwind and you spend your life sort of treading water, and you don't enjoy the good bits. But now I'm looking forward to just enjoying every second." Television host Annabel went on to gush over her love for babies, adding they're "full of personality". Annabel recently discussed the death of her husband, Mel Coleman. She said Strictly Come Dancing"saved her" following his death in May 2023 from stomach cancer. The couple married in 1993 after Mel, a professional yachtsman, taught Annabel how to sail for a TV programme. The grief hit Annabel hard, particularly as she and Mel had planned to retire and downsize in southwest London. It was only when she agreed to - and lasted 10 weeks on - Strictly Come Dancing that Annabel, who won the San Diego Open in 1985, felt she could tackle her bereavement. Speaking to The Telegraph this month, the TV and radio host revealed: "I don't know what I would have done without being busy. I would have sunk... Literally within a few weeks [of losing him] I was on the phone to my agent. "He said, 'I've signed you up to Strictly. You're giving an interview tomorrow because they are announcing it'." Following the series, in which Annabel came fourth, the grief became less raw. The former tennis star said the pain now "comes in rain showers but they are getting less and then it's gone". She added: "I didn't know I had an incredible marriage, but I did." With Amber's pregnancy and Annabel's plans to move to a smaller house near the Thames, there is "so much to be positive about". "I don't want to be a professional widow. I understand that a lot of people can identify with what I've been through, but I don't want grief to define me," Annabel, who won Celebrity Wrestling on ITV in 2005, said.
Pink Villa
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Pink Villa
Pam Shriver pens emotional note after ‘challenging' year and split with Donna Vekic: ‘I need to lean even more…'
Pam Shriver, International Tennis Hall of Famer and 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion, announced she is leaving her role as coaching consultant to World No. 22 Donna Vekić. Shriver, who joined Vekić's camp in late 2022, cited a punishing season off court in Los Angeles as the catalyst for her decision. This includes having had to evacuate her home during the devastating wildfires and the temporary loss of her prized trophies. 'It's been a challenging year,' Shriver wrote on X. 'I need to lean even more into my community & my family's wellbeing.' From San Diego to Wimbledon: How the coach-player duo started Their partnership began at the San Diego Open, where Shriver offered courtside insights after spotting Vekić's standout performance in qualifying. Impressed, Vekić brought Shriver on as an advisor alongside coach Nikola Horvat, and later with Sascha Bajin. The results followed swiftly. In just five months, Vekić climbed from world No. 77 to No. 20 in the WTA rankings, as per Sportskeeda. Under Shriver's guidance, she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, though she lost to Jasmine Paolini in what was perhaps the longest semifinal in the tournament's history. That momentum carried into the summer, where Vekić secured a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, beating Coco Gauff before falling to Zheng Qinwen. Shriver's personal loss forces a choice Pam Shriver's Los Angeles life was upended in early 2025 when wildfires forced her from her Brentwood home, as reported by WTA. While evacuating, her car, which was packed with 11 of her Grand Slam doubles trophies, was stolen from a hotel parking lot. 'Really sad on so many levels,' she later admitted, after the trophies were recovered. Despite continuing to mentor Vekić remotely through the Australian Open, the ordeal took its toll. In her X post, Shriver called her stint with Vekić 'one of the greatest experiences' she has had in her 50-plus years in tennis, but made clear her priorities have shifted back to family and community. What's next for Donna Vekić? As Shriver departs, Donna Vekić enters the middle of the grass-court season without her veteran adviser. With this official exit, the Croatian will now be working with Sascha Bajin as her main coach this year. Coming off a lean patch in 2025—including early losses at Queen's Club—Vekić will now look to her remaining coaches to sustain the momentum built during her breakthrough seasons.
Daily Mirror
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
TV presenter admits she 'would have sunk' without Strictly Come Dancing
Annabel Croft, the former professional tennis player who won the San Diego Open in 1985, lost her Mel Coleman to stomach cancer in May 2023, months before her Strictly Come Dancing adventure TV presenter Annabel Croft says Strictly Come Dancing"saved her" following the death of her husband. Tragedy struck when the former professional tennis player's spouse Mel Coleman died in May 2023 after a short battle with stomach cancer. The couple married in 1993 after Mel, a professional yachtsman, taught Annabel how to sail for a TV programme. The grief hit Annabel, 58, hard, particularly as she and Mel had planned to retire and downsize in southwest London. It was only when she agreed to - and lasted 10 weeks on - Strictly Come Dancing that Annabel, who won the San Diego Open in 1985, felt she could tackle her bereavement. Speaking to The Telegraph this week, the TV and radio host said: "I don't know what I would have done without being busy. I would have sunk... Literally within a few weeks [of losing him] I was on the phone to my agent. He said, 'I've signed you up to Strictly. You're giving an interview tomorrow because they are announcing it'." Following the series, in which Annabel came fourth, the grief became less raw. The former tennis star said the pain now "comes in rain showers but they are getting less and then it's gone". She added: "I didn't know I had an incredible marriage, but I did." Now, Annabel is a pundit on tennis coverage across Eurosport, Sky Sports and the BBC and she is also expecting her first grandchild as her oldest daughter Amber Rose is pregnant. And the presenter is downsizing - two years on from her original plans with Mel. She is moving within London but wants to live near the River Thames as Mel always hoped to be beside the water. "There is so much to be positive about. I don't want to be a professional widow. I understand that a lot of people can identify with what I've been through, but I don't want grief to define me," Annabel, who won Celebrity Wrestling on ITV in 2005, said. "Strictly was so helpful to me. I realised how much I loved dancing and I've wondered whether I went down the wrong path [with tennis] when I might have been a dancer instead." During her time on Strictly, Annabel was paired with Johannes Radebe. The pair developed a quick rapport and remain friends now. Annabel, host of the original Treasure Hunt on Channel 4, continued: "He's part of the family now. We are bonded for life." The star, who retired from tennis at just 21 in 1988, is to begin a speaking tour across the UK on September 25, reflecting on her incredible sporting career and describing the very personal and moving journey she has been on in recent times.
