Annabel Croft
 Annabel Croft in 2011 |
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| Country |  Great Britain |
|---|---|
| Residence | Kingston upon Thames[1] |
| Born | 12 July 1966 Farnborough, Greater London |
| Retired | 1988 |
| Career prize money | $201,254 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 49–68 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | 21 (31 December 1985) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1984, 1985) |
| French Open | 2R (1986) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1984) |
| US Open | 3R (1986) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 13–36 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | 126 (21 December 1986) |
| Last updated on: N/A. | |
Annabel Croft (born 12 July 1966 in Farnborough, England) is a 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.
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.
Most recently she has been a tennis commentator for Sky Sports.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Tennis career
After winning the Wimbledon and Australian Open girls' tournaments in 1984, Croft won the Virginia Slims of San Diego tournament in 1985, beating Wendy Turnbull in the final in straight sets.[2] In December 1985, she achieved a world ranking of 21.[1] She played for Great Britain in the Fed Cup in 1985 and 1986, and in the Wightman Cup from 1983 to 1986.[1]
[edit] After tennis
Despite her potential and being amongst the world's top 25 players, Croft retired from professional tennis very early at the age of only twenty-one, tired of the relentless travel and keen to start a family. Reflecting on her early retirement in 2011, she noted that the tour was stressful as it was like "having an argument every day and preparing for another one tomorrow". Immediately after her retirement, Annabel 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 ITV1, Interceptor.[3]
In 1990 Croft released her own fitness video entitled Annabel Croft's Shape Tape.
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 and Eurosport 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 Annabel 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.[4]
After Famous, Rich and Homeless she did a follow-on Radio 5 Live radio show which was broadcast on 24 and 25 December 2009, called "James: My Alcoholic Friend" where she goes and tries to track down James who she spent a night with on the streets and ended up in Weston-super-Mare to find him.
She is a tennis commentator for Sky sports including the 2011 US Open. She also presents Game, Set & Mats on Eurosport during Grand Slam weeks of tennis.
She has successfully completed the New York Marathon.
[edit] Personal life
Croft is married to Mel Coleman, a former international yachtsman and current investment banker. The couple live in Coombe, near Wimbledon, in the London borough of Kingston, with their three children, Amber, Charlie, and Lily.[5]
Croft is active in raising awareness of child obesity, and is a supporter of the children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Annabel Croft" (pdf). Celebrity Tennis. 30 January 2005. http://www.celebritytennis.co.uk/Croft%20Bio.pdf. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ Flatman, Barry (12 June 2005). "The top 10 great white hopes of British tennis". The Sunday Times. London: Times Newspapers. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article532462.ece. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
- ^ Page about Annabel, from a site about the TV show, Interceptor
- ^ BBC page about Famous, Rich and Homeless
- ^ "Fame and fortune: Annabel Croft". The Telegraph. 29 August 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/08/25/cmfame25.xml&page=1. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ^ "Annabel Croft Launches New Challenge Event for CLIC Sargent". CLIC Sargent. 12 May 2008. http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Aboutus/Mediacentre/Latestnews/24sevenchallengelaunch. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
[edit] External links
- www.annabelcroft.com
- Annabel Croft at the Women's Tennis Association
- Annabel Croft at the Fed Cup
- Annabel Croft at the Internet Movie Database
- http://www.mtc-uk.com/talent/annabel-croft
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