sport news Tennis great Pam Shriver slams the sport for not protecting female players ... trends now
Twenty-two-time grand slam champion Pam Shriver has slammed tennis for not protecting female players from their older male coaches - something she knows more about that anyone.
The 60-year-old doubles legend, who is now a prominent coach and broadcaster, revealed last year she had began a five-year relationship with her coach Don Candy when he was 50 and she was 17.
At the time she called on WTA Tour authorities to protect their players much better both personally and professionally - and she has slammed the sport for not improving much since.
US tennis great Pam Shriver, who is now a prominent broadcaster and coach, has called on the game to improve protection for vulnerable female players from their older male coaches
Shriver revealed last year she had a five-year affair with her married coach Don Candy (pictured together in 1982), which began when she was 17 and he was 50
'I don't know if they [WTA] are all in yet,' Shriver, who is at the Australian Open to coach Croatian star Donna Vekic, told The Age.
'Having seen so many generations of women players struggle with the same thing, I really want women players to have more agency over the separation of their personal life from their professional life.
'I would like see the four majors, which together have 12 important weeks of the calendar, to step up and be better leaders on this thing. I think there are some real opportunities to make inroads.'
Shriver, who won seven Australian Open doubles titles in a sterling 18-year career, revealed her relationship with Candy last year after a long period of reflection and therapy during Covid.
The American turned pro aged just 15, and travelled with the now-deceased Candy, who was both her coach and chaperone.
She said the relationship had a huge impact on the rest of her life, and authorities should never have allowed the married coach, who died in 2020 aged 91, to be with her.
Shriver said she shared her story in the hope that current female players won't be allowed to fall into the same trap.
Pam Shriver, pictured with coach Don Candy in 1980, said their affair was inappropriate and hopes no current female players fall into the same trap with older male coaches
'It never should have been with my coach and ... I've just realised that it's time to talk about my story and hopefully make it easier for some other people who've also had stories that are similar,' she told The Telegraph last year.
'I still have conflicted feelings about Don. Yes, he and I became involved in a long and inappropriate affair. Yes, he was cheating on his wife.
'But there was a lot about him that was honest and authentic. And I loved him. Even so, he was the grown-up here. He should have been the trustworthy adult.
'In a different world, he would have found a way to keep things professional. Only after therapy did I start to feel a little less responsible. Now, at last, I've come to realise that what happened is on him,' Shriver said.
