Annabel Croft returned to Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Thursday, only this time as a spectator as Jasmine Paolini played Donna Vekic for a place in the final.
The former tennis player – now a regular contributor to TV and radio coverage of the annual championship – caught the eye in a seasonal floral print summer dress as she took her seat at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Croft, 57, is co-hosting this year’s tournament for the BBC little more than a year after losing her husband Mel Coleman to stomach cancer.
The pair met in the 1980s when Mel Coleman had just taken part in the Americas Cup and Annabel was on the verge of quitting professional tennis, at the tender age of 21.
Following his death in May 2023 Annabel channeled her grief through work, including her regular presenting role from Wimbledon.
Annabel Croft returned to Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Thursday, only this time as a spectator as Jasmine Paolini played Donna Vekic for a place in the final
The former tennis player – now a regular contributor to TV and radio coverage of the annual championship – caught the eye in a seasonal floral print summer dress
‘I don’t actually know how I did it. I cried a lot, I cried every day,’ she told Weekend magazine.
‘There were many times, even backstage, I’d be crying. Then it was extraordinary, how once I had to go out and do the job, I would just lock in to what I knew.’
She added: ‘In many ways, the work was a respite from the terrible grief. It was a brain rest from crying.
‘People were so kind and so thoughtful and forgiving, they kept saying, “You’re doing such an amazing job and you’re so brave.” But it was a saviour to me, to work.’
The presenter pushed herself out of her comfort zone in September after signing up for the twenty first series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Paired with South African ballroom specialist Johannes Radebe, Croft finished in an impressive fourth place.
And she admits Radebe – whose cousin had taken his own life just weeks before he was due to return to the show – was initially unsure if he wanted a partner.
‘I think at first he was a bit panicked about having to cope with my grief when he was coping with a lot of grief himself,’ she said.
Croft is co-hosting this year’s tournament for the BBC little more than a year after losing her husband Mel Coleman to stomach cancer
She was seen making her way to her seat on Centre Court ahead of Thursday’s action
The presenter appeared to be in high spirits as she waited for the semi-final game to commence
‘It was very emotional behind the scenes for both of us, there were so many tears at so many different points.’
Croft was confirmed as a contestant on Strictly almost immediately after Wimbledon, with the show giving her another opportunity to channel her loss through work.
‘I knew it would help me, because when it started to get gloomy and dark in the autumn afternoons it’d be hard to come back to an empty house that Mel used to be in,’ she said.
‘So the idea I’d get out of bed every day and learn a new skill was a comfort to me.’
