Hall of Fame tennis player Pam Shriver says she was in 'inappropriate, damaging' relationship with her coach when she was 17

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Pam Shriver said Wednesday that she was in an inappropriate and damaging relationship with her older coach that lasted for five years.

In an interview with Outside the Lines and a first-person story with The Telegraph, she said she decided to talk about her relationship with Don Candy because it still goes on.

She wrote in The Telegraph that she believed abusive coaching relationships were common in sport. My particular expertise is in tennis, where I have witnessed dozens of instances in my four-and-a-bit decades as a player and commentator. Every time I hear about a player dating their coach, or a male doctor working on a female body in the gym, it makes me alarm bells go off.

At the age of 15, she began her professional career. Candy was her coach and chaperone. He reached the finals of the 1978 US Open as an amateur, but never won a Grand Slam title.

She won 21 times in singles and 21 times in doubles on the WTA tour, and also won 21 Grand Slam doubles titles.

The relationship with Candy began when she was 20 years old and ended when she died in 2020.

During that time, it was difficult for me to have my first relationship. I realized that it was time to talk about my story and hopefully make it easier for other people who have had similar stories.

Candy was older than Shriver. She said he never abused her in a sexual way. She said that the affair became an "open secret" on the women's pro tennis tour.

He and I became involved in a long and inappropriate affair. He was cheating on his wife. There was a lot about him that was authentic. I loved him. He was grown up here. He should have been trustworthy. He would have found a way to keep things professional. I started to feel less responsible after therapy. I have come to realize that what happened is on him.

She told her father about the relationship, but not her mother.

I felt a lot of shame and guilt, as well as jealousy, when his wife came to tournaments. At times it was really miserable.

I didn't understand how difficult the juggling was because I was trying to be the best tennis player I could be. I kept it to myself. You know what, some of my friends eventually learned. I don't want to say it was normalized, but I wasn't the only one. We were not the only boundary-crossing relationship on the tour.

At the time, she didn't have an outlet to share what was happening.

At that time, there were no safeguards for young female athletes. I kept it a secret from my family. I kept a secret from my parents.

I wasn't sure how to ask for help and I didn't know where to go. When the relationship ended, I realized how much help I needed.

The tour is dedicated to ensuring a safe environment across its tour, and that it requires vigilance, and we are continuing to invest in education, training and resources to improve our efforts.

The health and safety of all the stakeholders of the tour is a priority.

She was asked why she is telling her story now.

I never allowed myself enough time to think about what had happened, because it has been over 40 years.

It really did take 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 888-349-8884 When the relationship started, I realized my kids were of the same age. When my mom died last August, it took some reflection. She died, never knowing that this happened. She thought I was being chaperoned by a person.

I just feel like it is time for me. I feel like it is important for my healing. It is important for me to come forward and talk about my story in detail so that I can help a few young players. It may help coaches understand that they need to not cross that boundary.

I feel like for a lot of reasons it is the right time.