Tennis great Pam Shriver reveals she had 'inappropriate' relationship with 'much older' coach as a teenager

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International Tennis Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst Pam Shriver on Wednesday revealed she was in an "inappropriate and damaging relationship" with her "much older" coach that began when she was 17, and he was 50.

Shriver talked about her relationship with coach Don Candy and the "painful and emotional journey" she underwent, in a first-person account published by the Daily Telegraph.

Shriver said she was guided by Candy, who served as her coach and chaperone when she started playing on the tour in 1978 at the age of 15. Under Candy, she reached the U.S. Open final as a 16-year-old amateur, eventually losing in straight sets to Chris Evert. But in 1979, in the middle of a tennis rough patch with no victories in five months, she told Candy that she was "falling in love," with him -- despite their 33-year age gap. 

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Candy died in 2020 at the age of 91. 

NSW Women's Tennis Open at White City Semifinals.Pam Shriver (R) and her coach Don Candy (L) hoping for rain to hold off till after her match. December 5, 1980.  (Photo by Antonin Cermak/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)

"I still have conflicted feelings about Don. Yes, he and I became involved in a long and inappropriate affair. Yes, he was cheating on his wife. But there was a lot about him that was honest and authentic. And I loved him," Shriver wrote. "Even so, he was the grown-up here. He should have been the trustworthy adult. In a different world, he would have found a way to keep things professional. Only after therapy did I start to feel a little less responsible. Now, at last, I’ve come to realise that what happened is on him."

Over the