Annabel Croft

Last updated

Annabel Croft
Annabel croft head.jpg
Annabel Croft in 2011
Full nameAnnabel Nicola Croft
Country (sports) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Great Britain
Residence Kingston upon Thames [1]
Born (1966-07-12) 12 July 1966 (age 58)
Farnborough, Kent, England
Retired1988
Prize money$201,254
Singles
Career record49–68
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 24 (31 December 1985)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open 2R (1984, 1985)
French Open 2R (1986)
Wimbledon 3R (1984)
US Open 3R (1986)
Doubles
Career record13–36
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 126 (21 December 1986)

Annabel Nicola Croft (born 12 July 1966) is a British former professional tennis player and current radio and television presenter. As a tennis player she won the WTA Tour event Virginia Slims of San Diego and represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup and the Wightman Cup.

Contents

After retiring from tennis, she turned to television presenting, with such shows as Treasure Hunt and Interceptor . In 2005, she appeared in the ITV programme Celebrity Wrestling and went on to win it. In 2023 Croft was a contestant in BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and finished fourth.

Most recently she has been a presenter and pundit for Eurosport, Sky Sports and the BBC.

Early life

Croft was born in Farnborough, Kent. Her father James was educated at the independent Sutton Valence School in Kent, becoming a chartered surveyor. He married her mother, Susan Templer of Higham, Kent, in June 1963. Her father worked for Richard Ellis, which is now CBRE Group. They lived in Bickley. [2] She was coached by Derek Bone. [3]

Tennis career

After winning the Wimbledon and Australian Open girls' tournaments in 1984, she won the Virginia Slims of San Diego tournament in 1985, beating Wendy Turnbull in the final in straight sets. [4] In December 1985, she achieved a world ranking of 24. [1] She played for Great Britain in the Fed Cup in 1985 and 1986, and in the Wightman Cup from 1983 to 1986. [1] She continued to play through February 1988, but failed to reach another final. [5]

After tennis

Despite her potential and being amongst the world's top 25 players, Croft retired from professional tennis at the age of only twenty-one, tired of the relentless travel and feeling she no longer enjoyed playing. [6] Immediately after her retirement, Croft became the new face of Channel 4's prime time show Treasure Hunt , following Anneka Rice's successful run. This was followed by her own show on ITV, Interceptor . [7]

In 1990, Croft released her own fitness video entitled Annabel Croft's Shape Tape. [8]

She has been involved in coverage of Wimbledon Tennis Championship for the BBC, Radio 5 Live and GMTV, and has also worked for Sky Sports, [9] and Eurosport [10] as a tennis pundit. She has appeared on UK lifestyle TV shows such as The Wright Stuff , The Entertainment Show, GMTV , Out and About and This Morning . [1]

In June 2009, Croft was one of five volunteers who took part in a BBC series of two programmes Famous, Rich and Homeless about living penniless on the streets of London. [11] After Famous, Rich and Homeless Croft did a follow-on Radio 5 Live radio show which was broadcast on 24 and 25 December 2009, entitled James: My Alcoholic Friend, where she tries to track down the rough sleeper with whom she had spent a night on the streets. [12]

She was a presenter for Sky Sports, including the 2012 US Open. [9] She also jointly presented Game, Set & Mats on Eurosport in 2015, along with former tennis player Mats Wilander, during Grand Slam tournament weeks of tennis. [10]

In November 2011, Croft - a presenter on Eurosport - hosted the AIB Media Excellence Awards, the international competition for journalism and factual production. [13]

In October 2012, Croft launched a company called DiaryDoll with TV presenter Carol Smillie, retailing waterproof pants for periods, post-maternity and pelvic-floor weakness, with an aim to be pretty, feminine, breathable and washproof whilst reducing stigma of the topic of women's pelvic health. [14]

In 2021, she was the winner of the IC of GB Sportsmanship Award, given to a British tennis player for admirable attitude as a sportsman or sportswoman during their career. [8] Former winners include Sue Barker (2019), Virginia Wade (2017), Greg Rusedski (2011), Tim Henman (1999), and Jeremy Bates (1995). [15]

Between September and December 2023, Croft was a contestant in the twenty-first series of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing , partnered with professional dancer Johannes Radebe. The couple finished in fourth place.

Personal life

Croft was married to Mel Coleman, a former international America's Cup and Admiral's Cup yachtsman. They were married on Saturday 10 July 1993 at Brasted St Martins, by Rev Raymond Hill. She met her husband when he taught her to sail in 1987 for a TV programme. The guests included Roger Taylor and jockey John Francome. [16] [17] They were driven away from the church in the original car from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , which was her favourite film. [18] [19]

The couple lived in Coombe, near Wimbledon, in the London borough of Kingston, with their three children, two daughters named Amber Rose and Lily and a son, Charlie. [20] In 2009, jointly, they started the Annabel Croft Tennis Academy at the National Tennis Centre. [20] After a short illness with stomach cancer, [21] Coleman died on 24 May 2023. [22]

Croft has been active in raising awareness of child obesity, and is a supporter of the children's cancer charity Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly known as CLIC Sargent). [23]

WTA career finals

ResultDateTierTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win22 April 1985Virginia Slims
75,000		 Virginia Slims of San Diego, United StatesHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wendy Turnbull 6–0, 7–6(7–5)

Grand Slam performance timelines

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 W–LSR
Australian Open Q1 Q2 1R 1R NHA 1R 0–30 / 3
French Open A Q1 1R 1R 2R 1R A1–40 / 4
Wimbledon 1R 1R 3R 1R 1R 2R A3–60 / 6
US Open Q2 1R 1R 2R 3R 2R A4–50 / 5
Win–loss0–10–22–41–43–32–30–18–180 / 18
Year-end ranking161 [24] 138 [25] 82 [26] 24 [27] 82 [28] 141 [29] 265 [30]

Doubles

Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 W–LSR
Australian Open 1R 2R NHA0–30 / 3
French Open 2R 1R 1R 1R 1–40 / 4
Wimbledon A 1R 1R 1R 3–60 / 6
US Open 1R 1R 1R A4–50 / 5
Win–loss0–10–22–41–48–180 / 18
Year-end ranking114 [31] 62 [32] 126 [33] 292 [34]

Mixed doubles

Tournament19831984198519861987W–LSR
Australian Open ANHA0–00 / 0
French Open A 1R A 1R A1–40 / 4
Wimbledon 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 3–60 / 6
US Open 1R 1R A4–50 / 5
Win–loss0–10–10–22–41–48–180 / 18

National team participation

Fed Cup

1985 Federation Cup Main Draw
DateVenueSurfaceRoundOpponentsFinal match scoreMatchOpponentRubber score
6–14 Oct
1985		 Nagoya HardR1Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 3–0Singles Myriam Schropp 6–3, 6–1 (W)
R2Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 2–1Singles Etsuko Inoue 7–6(9–7), 6–7(4–7), 6–3 (W)
QFFlag of Bulgaria (1971-1990).svg  Bulgaria 1–2Singles Manuela Maleeva 2–6, 2–6 (L)
1986 Federation Cup Consolation rounds
20–27 Jul
1986		 Prague ClayR1BYE
R2Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 3–0Singles Petra Thorén 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 (W)
Doubles(with Anne Hobbs) Suonpaa/Thorén 6–0, 6–1 (W)
QFFlag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 3–0Singles Suzanna Anggarkusuma 6–2, 2–6, 6–2 (W)
Doubles(with Anne Hobbs) Anggarkusuma/Basuki 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 (W)
SFFlag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 3–0Singles Csilla Cserepy 6–4, 6–2 (W)
Doubles(with Anne Hobbs) Cserepy/Szikszay 2–1, ret. (W)
WFlag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 2–1Singles Larisa Savchenko 6–4, 6–0 (W)
Doubles(with Anne Hobbs) Egorova/Parkhomenko 2–6, 1–6 (L)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Barker</span> English tennis player and television presenter

Susan Barker is a British former television presenter and professional tennis player. During her playing career, Barker won 15 WTA Tour singles titles, including a major singles title at the 1976 French Open. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriela Sabatini</span> Argentine tennis player

Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini is an Argentine former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 titles. In singles, Sabatini won the 1990 US Open, the Tour Finals in 1988 and 1994, and was runner-up at Wimbledon 1991, the 1988 US Open, and the silver medalist at the 1988 Olympics. In doubles, Sabatini won Wimbledon in 1988 partnering Steffi Graf, and reached three French Open finals. Among Open era players who did not reach the world No. 1 ranking, Sabatini has the most wins over reigning world No. 1 ranked players. In 2006, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and in 2018 Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 20th-greatest female player of the preceding 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Coetzer</span> South African tennis player

Amanda Coetzer is a South African former professional tennis player. Coetzer finished in the WTA rankings top 20 for ten consecutive seasons (1992–2001), peaking at world No. 3. She reached three Grand Slam semifinals and one Grand Slam doubles final. Coetzer earned a reputation for regularly beating players who were ranked higher than her. By virtue of scoring so many upset wins in spite of her five-foot-two (1.58m) stature, she gained the nickname: "The Little Assassin".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jo Durie</span> British tennis player

Joanna Mary Durie is a former world No. 5 tennis player from the United Kingdom. During her career, she also reached No. 9 in doubles, and won two Grand Slam titles, both in the mixed doubles with Jeremy Bates.

Larisa Savchenko-Neiland is a tennis coach and former professional player who represented the Soviet Union and Latvia. A former world No. 1 doubles player, Neiland won six Grand Slam titles: two in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles. She also won two singles titles and 63 doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She is listed in fourth place for the most doubles match wins (766) in WTA history, after Lisa Raymond, Rennae Stubbs and Liezel Huber. Neiland has been the coach of Ukrainian tennis player Daria Snigur since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Shuker</span> British wheelchair tennis player

Lucy Jessica Shuker is a British wheelchair tennis player who is currently the highest ranked woman in the sport in Britain. A previous singles and doubles National Champion, Shuker has represented Great Britain at four successive Paralympic Games, twice winning a bronze medal in the women's doubles and is former world doubles champion and World Team Cup silver medallist amongst a number of other national and international successes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Robson</span> British tennis player

Laura Robson is a British former professional tennis player. She debuted on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2007, and a year later won the Junior Wimbledon championships at the age of 14. As a junior, she also twice reached the final of the girls' singles tournament at the Australian Open, in 2009 and 2010. She won her first tournament on the ITF Women's Circuit in November 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara Moore</span> British tennis player

Tara Shanice Moore is a Hong Kong-born British tennis player. She achieved career-high rankings by the WTA of 145 in singles and No. 77 in doubles. In her career, she won nine singles titles and 17 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Watson</span> British tennis player (born 1992)

Heather Miriam Watson is a British professional tennis player. A former British No. 1, Watson has won nine titles over her career, including the mixed-doubles title at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, partnering Henri Kontinen, making her the first British woman to win a major title since Jo Durie in 1991, and the first to win a Wimbledon title since Durie in 1987. In October 2012, Watson won her first WTA Tour singles title at the Japan Women's Open, becoming the first British woman to win a WTA tournament singles title since Sara Gomer in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ons Jabeur</span> Tunisian tennis player (born 1994)

Ons Jabeur is a Tunisian professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) of world No. 2, achieved on 27 June 2022. Jabeur is the current Tunisian number one, and the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in WTA and ATP rankings history. She has won five singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as eleven singles titles and one doubles title on the ITF Circuit. Jabeur was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023 and at the US Open in 2022, becoming the first African and Arab woman to contest a major singles final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johanna Konta</span> British tennis player

Johanna Konta is a British-Australian former professional tennis player. Konta won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, along with eleven titles in singles and four in doubles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She was British No. 1 and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 on 17 July 2017. She reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the French Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alizé Lim</span> French tennis player (born 1990)

Alizé Lim is a French tennis player. Her career is WTA singles ranking is 135, reached on 26 May 2014, and her doubles ranking is world No. 148, attained on 7 November 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Broady</span> British tennis player (born 1994)

Liam Tarquin Broady is a British professional tennis player who competes mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour. He reached a career high ranking of world No. 93 on 25 September 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Boulter</span> British tennis player (born 1996)

Katie Charlotte Boulter is a British professional tennis player and currently the British No. 1 in women's singles. On 4 March 2024, she reached her best WTA singles ranking of world No. 27. On 7 October 2024, she peaked at No. 290 in the doubles rankings. She has won three singles titles on the WTA Tour as well as seven singles titles and four doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Sorribes Tormo</span> Spanish tennis player (born 1996)

Sara Sorribes Tormo is a Spanish professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 32 on 7 February 2022 and No. 17 in doubles on 6 May 2024. She has won two singles titles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as one doubles title on the WTA Challenger Tour. On the ITF Circuit, she has won ten singles and five doubles titles. She is a bronze medalist in women's doubles at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Dart</span> British tennis player (born 1996)

Harriet Dart is a British professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 70 and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 59, on 14 October 2024. She reached the final of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles with Joe Salisbury.

Annabel Dimmock is an English professional golfer and Ladies European Tour player. She won the 2019 Jabra Ladies Open and the Ladies Irish Open in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodie Burrage</span> British tennis player (born 1999)

Jodie Anna Burrage is a British tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of 84, achieved on 4 March 2024, and a best WTA doubles ranking of 147, set on 15 January 2024. Burrage has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour and one doubles title on the WTA Challenger Tour, along with five titles in singles and six in doubles on the ITF Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Raducanu</span> British tennis player (born 2002)

Emma Raducanu MBE is a British professional tennis player. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 10 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on 11 July 2022, and is a former British No. 1. Raducanu is the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Virginia Wade at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonay Kartal</span> British tennis player (born 2001)

Sonay Kartal is a British tennis player. She has career-high rankings of world No. 92 in singles achieved on 21 October 2024 and of No. 559 in doubles. She has won one WTA Tour and 14 ITF singles titles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Annabel Croft" (PDF). Celebrity Tennis. 30 January 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  2. ↑ Kent Messenger Friday 26 April 1968, page 13
  3. ↑ Kentish Advertiser Saturday 21 June 1980, page 3
  4. ↑ Flatman, Barry (12 June 2005). "The top 10 great white hopes of British tennis". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  5. ↑ "Players. Annabel Croft". itftennis.com. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Interview: Annabel Croft recalls loneliness of tennis tour". The Scotsman. 17 June 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  7. ↑ "Interceptor – Behind the Scenes – Annabel Croft". interceptors-lair.com.
  8. 1 2 "IC of GB Sportsmanship Award 2021 - Annabel Croft". gb.ictennis.net. 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Annabel's answers!". skysports.com. 25 August 2012.
  10. 1 2 Mats Wilander (5 May 2015). "game, set and mats: Murray Loves the Drama". eurosport.com.
  11. ↑ "BBC One - Famous, Rich and Homeless, Series 1, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "James: My Alcoholic Friend". BBC Radio 5 Live. 24 December 2009.
  13. ↑ "AIB announces winners of 2011 AIBs international media awards". 10 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "Knickers to period problems: Carol Smillie on the range of underwear for girls she launched with friend Annabel Croft". dailyrecord. 9 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "IC of GB Sportsmanship Award Roll of Honour". gb.ictennis.net. 2022.
  16. ↑ Kentish Advertiser Thursday 29 April 1993, page 1
  17. ↑ Kentish Advertiser Thursday 15 July 1993, page 1
  18. ↑ Cambridge Daily News Tuesday 20 July 1993, page 5
  19. ↑ "The things they say". 7 July 2014.
  20. 1 2 "MPC management - Annabel croft". mpce.com. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  21. ↑ Methven, Nicola; Duff, Seamus; Reines, Jeff (16 September 2023). "Strictly's Annabel Croft's husband died of cancer just months ago". Devon Live. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "Annabel Croft's Husband Died". mirror.co.uk. 27 May 2023.
  23. ↑ "Annabel Croft Launches New Challenge Event for CLIC Sargent". CLIC Sargent. 12 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  24. ↑ "1982 Year-end singles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  25. ↑ "1983 Year-end singles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  26. ↑ "1984 Year-end singles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  27. ↑ "1985 Year-end singles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  28. ↑ "1986 Year-end singles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  29. ↑ "1987 Year-end singles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  30. ↑ "1988 Year-end singles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  31. ↑ "1984 Year-end doubles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  32. ↑ "1985 Year-end doubles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  33. ↑ "1986 Year-end doubles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  34. ↑ "1987 Year-end doubles rankings" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.