Twenty-two-time Grand Slam champion Pam Shriver has criticized tennis for not protecting female players from their older male coaches – something she knows more about than anyone.
The 60-year-old doubles legend, who is now a celebrity trainer and presenter, revealed last year that she began a five-year relationship with her trainer Don Candy when he was 50 and she was 17.
At the time, she urged WTA Tour authorities to do much better to protect their players, both personally and professionally – and she has criticized the sport for not improving much since then.
US tennis great Pam Shriver, who is now a prominent broadcaster and coach, has called on the game to increase protections for vulnerable female players from their older male coaches
Shriver announced last year that she had a five-year affair with her married coach Don Candy (pictured together in 1982) that began when she was 17 and he was 50
“I don’t know if she [WTA] are all still in,” Shriver, who coaches Croatian star Donna Vekic at the Australian Open, told The Age.
“Having seen so many generations of female players struggle with the same thing, I really want female players to have more influence in separating their private lives from their professional lives.
“I would like to see the four majors, who together have 12 important weeks on the calendar, move up and be better leaders on this issue. I think there are some real ways to make progress.’
Shriver, who has won seven Australian Open doubles titles in her 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 traveled with the now-deceased Candy, who was both her coach and companion.
She said the relationship had a major impact on the rest of her life and that authorities should never have allowed the married coach, who died in 2020 at the age of 91, to be with her.
Shriver said she shared her story in the hope that current players don’t 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 as older male coaches
“It should never have been with my coach and … I just realized it’s time to speak out about my story and hopefully make it easier for some other people who have had similar stories as well,” she told The Telegraph past Year.
“I still have conflicting feelings about Don. Yes, he and I became involved in a long and improper affair. Yes, he cheated on his wife.
“But there was a lot about him that was honest and authentic. And I loved him. Still, he was the adult here. He should have been the trusted adult.
“In another world, he would have found a way to keep things professional. Only after the therapy did I feel a little less responsible. It’s finally clear to me that what happened affects him,” Shriver said.
Pam Shriver won 22 Grand Slam doubles titles in a glittering 18-year career
The WTA has certainly tried to ensure the situation doesn’t repeat itself, although Shriver said the jury is still out.
US sports attorney Lindsay Brandon is now the Tour’s Director of Safeguarding, responsible for developing and implementing plans to help players and coaches maintain professional boundaries.
Tennis Australia also launched its own initiative called ‘A Safer Game Plan’ which educates coaches on how to keep minors safe. They also operate a 24-hour telephone answering service.
But is it enough?
The relationships between player and coach still exist.
Former Australian Open finalist Petra Kvitova got engaged to her longtime coach Jiri Vanek last year. He is 12 years older than her.
Petra Kvitova got engaged to her trainer Jiri Vanek last year. The former top player proposed to his Czech compatriot in Wimbledon and they have been in a relationship since August 2021
Ninth-placed Veronika Kudermetova, who was recently knocked out in the second round, has been married to her coach Sergey Demekhin for five years.
The couple’s coach-player relationship began when she was 15 and he was almost 30.
Coach Pierre Bouteyre was accused of raping and sexually assaulting French star Fiona Ferro when he was aged 15 to 18 and he was in his 40s.
He had traveled with her on the WTA Tour but says their “sexual relationship” was consensual.
French star Fiona Ferro said her former trainer Pierre Bouteyre raped and sexually assaulted her between the ages of 15 and 18
Candy, an Australian player-turned-coach who saw most of his success in doubles – winning the 1956 French Open – was 33 years Shriver’s senior when they were in a relationship.
It started when she was 17 and turned sexual when she was 20 — and in hindsight, Shriver now realizes she needed help.
“I really didn’t know where to go and I wasn’t sure how to ask for help. And it wasn’t until some time later, when the relationship was over, that I really realized how much help I needed at the time,” she told ESPN of the affair.
“And it’s important that maybe I feel like coming forward and speaking at length about my history might just help a couple of young players.
“Maybe it will help coaches to understand that they don’t have to cross that line.”
Pam Shriver wants to make sure what happened to her as a player doesn’t happen to a current star
It was a revelation that shocked Candy’s family. The Australian’s portrait is still on display at Kooyong, and Shriver said she waited until he and her own parents were dead before revealing details of the affair.
Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka agrees with Shriver that this is a problem plaguing women’s tennis.
“We see these vulnerable young ladies being taken advantage of in different situations,” the WTA Players Council member said at the US Open last year.
It’s clearly a matter of the utmost importance to Shriver.
She is a supporter of US President Joe Biden’s Women’s Sports Policy Working Group and an ambassador for Up2Us Sports, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting underserved youth by providing them with coaches trained in positive youth development.
For now, she will keep an eye out for every player on the tour. After all, she knows the subtle signs of an inappropriate relationship.
Shriver will be in the pits at Melbourne Park on Monday while Vekic is looking to secure a place in the quarterfinals when she takes on Linda Fruhvirtova at Margaret Court Arena.