Annabel Croft with her late husband Mel smiling
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Wimbledon legend Annabel Croft left ‘absolutely shattered’ after death of husband Mel

Her husband of 30 years died from cancer in May

Annabel Croft has been left “absolutely shattered” after the sudden death of her husband from cancer.

The former tennis player was at Wimbledon earlier this week, a month after her husband of more than 30 years passed away.

The brave star will be appearing on a number of BBC shows through the event’s two-week run.

Annabel Croft smiling
Annabel lost her husband of more than 30 years in May (Credit: Splash News)

Annabel Croft returns to Wimbledon following death of husband

One fan took to Twitter to pay tribute, saying: “Lovely to see Annabel Croft commentating on Wimbledon after her sad news of her husband’s sudden death. She has such a lovely personality. She is very good at explaining the technical side of tennis, always very fair and pleasant when she speaks about tennis players.”

Husband Mel died in May

Mel Coleman, a former yachtsman and investment banker, died in May aged 60 from cancer. After he complained of sudden stomach problems, he received a stage three cancer diagnosis.

Annabel said at the time: “My beloved husband Mel passed away peacefully after a short battle with cancer. My family and I are completely heartbroken and ask for privacy at this very sad time.”

A friend told the Daily Mail: “This has come as an extreme shock to everyone. The diagnosis was out of the blue and Mel did not seem unwell at the time. Sadly the cancer progressed brutally. Everyone is devastated and horrified, and Annabel is absolutely shattered.”

Annabel Croft smiling
The diagnosis came as a shock to Annabel and her family (Credit: Splash News)

Couple met by chance

Earlier this year, Annabel spoke about her chance meeting with her husband. She told the Daily Mail: “I got a text from my mother saying the BBC production office in Belfast were asking whether I’d be interested in filming a programme about yacht racing.

“I’d never been on a yacht before, but it ended up with me, Eamonn Holmes and Peter Skellern going off to Guernsey to shoot a programme where we learnt how to race a yacht.

“Mel, who had just got back from Australia after the America’s Cup, was one of the yachtsmen and that is how we met.”

The couple lived in the borough of Kingston, and had three children together. Annabel achieved a career-high ranking of 24 in 1985. However, she retired from tennis at the age of just 21. Her best result at Wimbledon was reaching the third round in 1984.

Read more: Tennis legend Martina Navratilova announces double cancer diagnosis

Annabel Croft talks about her touring lifestyle

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