Former tennis star and Victorian Liberal deputy leader Sam Groth is facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour amid revelations that his relationship with his wife Brittany began when she was as young as 16-years-old.
The one-time athlete’s romance began in 2011, while Groth was taking a break from the professional tour.
At the time, he was coaching at Templestowe Park Tennis Club in northeast Melbourne, where Brittany was a teenage player.
Groth was 23 or 24 years old when the pair first met. Brittany was 16 or 17 and did not turn 18 until April 2012.
Her age at the beginning of their relationship has seen Groth’s political rivals allege he has engaged in inappropriate behaviour.
Under Victorian law, adults in supervisory roles are prohibited from engaging in sexual activity with people aged 16 or 17.
Sam Groth’s relationship timeline with his wife Brittany (pictured together) has seen him targeted by his political rivals
The couple’s early connection at a Melbourne tennis club is now central to questions being raised about Groth’s behaviour
Britanny Groth is pictured when she was playing at Templestowe Park Tennis club in Melbourne in 2013
The law states: ‘If you are between 16 and 17 years old, even if you agree, a person who is caring for you or supervising you… can’t have sex with you, touch you sexually or get you to touch them sexually, perform a sexual act in front of you.’
However, there is no proof their relationship was sexual before she turned 18, and no evidence that Groth was coaching her at the club, as he has only confirmed they were hitting partners.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting any of the allegations made about Groth and his wife Brittany are factual.
Groth has engaged lawyers over the initial report on the matter in the Herald Sun, saying it is ‘full of lies’.
The ex-tennis star spoke about how the couple first met in a 2017 interview. ‘We met during my year off,’ he said.
‘So I had that year off in 2011 where I sort of stepped away from tennis. We are actually from the same suburb in Melbourne.
‘I was coaching at a club and Brit was playing a little bit there – yeah we sort of met through that time.’
Groth (pictured with Brittany) has defended his family as pressure mounts over allegations relating to his wife’s age at the time they met
Victorian MPs remain divided over whether the issue should impact Sam Groth’s position within the Liberal Party
In the same interview, Brittany said: ‘It was fate, I guess.’
‘There was only a few small weeks where we could have possibly met each other.’
‘It was a small local club, I mean not many people play there.’
In a later 2024 interview, Brittany recalled their first meeting.
‘I was like, “OK, nice to meet you, cool” and over time we ended up hitting with each other and connecting from there.’
When Groth suggested that she fell for him first, Brittany replied: ‘No, it wasn’t, you added me on Facebook.
‘He added me on Facebook immediately.
‘I think that I knew I wanted to be with him but he was in such a different space to what my friends and girlfriends were in.’
A former club source confirmed the age gap and roles the couple had when they met.
The couple married in 2018 (pictured), seven years after meeting while Sam was coaching during his break from tennis
Sam and Brittany are pictured welcoming their twin boys Mason and Parker to the world in 2021
‘She was 17,’ the source told News Corp.
‘Sam was her hitting partner at Templestowe Park. When you’re at that level you need a hitting partner.’
‘She would have been training 15–20 hours a week.
‘Brittany was training with Sam … They kept their relationship going when she went to Richmond College in the US.’
At the time they met, Groth had recently separated from his first wife, professional tennis player Jarmila Wolfe, formerly Jarmila Gajdošová. They separated in May 2011.
Groth had taken the year off from professional tennis due to injury and personal issues. He played Australian Rules football locally during this period.
Sam and Brittany married in November 2018.
Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas has branded the situation ‘inappropriate’.
‘If you’re asking me whether I think it’s appropriate for a person that is in a position of influence or authority, like a teacher or coach, to be dating a teenager, then the answer to that is no,’ she said.
Sam and Brittany Groth are pictured at the Melbourne Grand Prix
‘It’s evidence that the Liberals remain at war with one another, and quite clearly, if you can’t govern yourselves, then you can’t govern the state.’
Premier Jacinta Allan also weighed in, saying: ‘Families shouldn’t be dragged into politics.
‘This is a matter for the Liberal leader Brad Battin and his deputy leader Sam Groth to respond to because it has come about as a consequence of bitter internal division within the Victorian Liberal Party.’
Groth responded publicly by stating: ‘My wife and kids should be off limits, and the fact that they’re not says more about others than it does about me.’
Liberal MP Bill Tilley initially dismissed the issue, saying: ‘There’s nothing in it.’
He later added: ‘Hang on, let me take that back.
‘There is something in it, because I want to … find out who exactly has been flapping their gums and trying to bring down one of their own.’
‘I want some heads on sticks … absolute cowards.’
Victorian Shadow Treasurer James Newbury defended Groth, stating: ‘Absolutely disgraceful to attack someone’s wife.’
Former Liberal leader Matthew Guy also commented, calling the criticism ‘despicable.’
MPs David Hodgett and Richard Riordan denied leaking or backgrounding against Groth.
Groth, his wife Brittany and Wolfe nee Gajdošová have been contacted for comment by Daily Mail Australia.
