‘The most wonderful feeling’: Wimbledon’s Annabel Croft shares ‘wise’ rule for grandparents

Annabel Croft knows her stuff when it comes to parenting – and grandparenting, too. The former professional tennis player has three children and now, at the age of 59, has a nine-month-old grandson. In an interview with The Times, the Wimbledon commentator opened up about her experience of being a mum and then a grandmother, and shared the one golden rule she thinks both parents and grandparents should follow.

‘Being a grandparent is the most wonderful feeling, more joyful than I ever thought,’ said Annabel, who revealed she’s currently living with her daughter Amber, Amber’s husband and her grandson – of whom she says: ‘I just can’t wait to see him every morning.’

Annabel said she’s super involved in caring for her grandson. ‘I’m “Grannybel” and there’s real teamwork in the house,’ she shared. ‘One of us will be doing bathtime, reading stories, crawling around on the floor, feeding or getting supper together. I think we’re all loving it, actually.’

The TV and radio presenter, who became a British number one when she was just a teenager, offered some sage advice about parenting children who are ‘trying to do sport professionally’, noting that, ‘It’s very difficult.’ She urged parents to ‘be very aware of the siblings, because their attention from you is equally important’.

And some advice from Annabel on parenting all children, which could also very much apply to grandparenting: ‘Give a bit more on the lead and they’ll always come back and tell you what’s going on. But if you pull the lead in tight, then they’ll never tell you anything.’ Annabel said she received this wisdom from a friend and immediately recognised it was ‘so wise and so true’.

Now commentating at Wimbledon rather than playing, Annabel is relishing the opportunity to enjoy fashion – and we can tell from her excellent courtside looks. In an interview with ELLE, she said: ‘I’m always spotting fashion. There were a couple of women I stopped the other day – I thought they had the most beautiful dresses on and just looked so stunning for Wimbledon.’

Annabel has been taking guidance from her younger daughter, Lily, who’s been sharing some very enjoyable videos getting her mum ready for Wimbledon. If you have some time to kill, we’d highly recommend scrolling through Annabel and Lily’s Instagram pages to have a watch.

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