nnabel Croft has mentioned her late husband was a “huge fan” of Strictly Come Dancing – including that collaborating within the present shortly after his loss of life felt just like the “right time.”
The former British primary tennis participant and broadcaster is among the many star-studded line-up of the brand new sequence of the BBC’s flagship present.
Croft mentioned collaborating within the present has “come at the right time for me” after saying the loss of life of her husband Mel Coleman, who had been identified with most cancers, in May.
Croft was the youngest Briton to compete within the Wimbledon Championships for nearly a century on the age of 15 earlier than turning into a junior champion on the event in 1984 on the age of 18.
She advised the PA news company: “I’m so excited to be taking part in the programme.
“I’ve always been a big fan of the show, my husband was a really huge fan of it.
“So [it’s] just exciting to do a new challenge and have fun in the process. Not take myself too seriously.”
Angela Rippon, Les Dennis and Zara McDermott are additionally among the many line-up this yr.
Croft, who's an envoy for padel tennis, was talking on the launch of the brand new court docket on the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London and mentioned she hopes the brand new facility encourages extra individuals to take it up.
She mentioned: “I think it’s slightly easier to play than tennis, tennis has a lot of different elements to it.
“Padel is a different type of bat, it sounds really good when you play. You can have some really fun rallies, you get some really good rallies going with your partners, you always play doubles and you laugh a lot. I’ve always enjoyed playing padel.”
She added: “It’s a little bit different to tennis, it’s great fun. I think I find myself laughing a lot more on a padel court.
“You just come out and have fun. Anyone can play. It’s very inclusive. You don’t need to be a member to come and play here.”
Padel is without doubt one of the fastest-growing sports activities in Europe and is Spain’s second hottest sport after soccer.
The cross between tennis and squash is performed primarily in a doubles format on an enclosed court docket that's two-thirds the dimensions of a tennis court docket.
Andy Murray, David Beckham, and Lionel Messi are among the many high-profile followers of the game.
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