Annika Sorenstam, the No. 1 player in women's golf and one of the most famous female athletes in the world, has filed for divorce from her husband of eight years, Golfweek magazine reported on Tuesday.
The divorce petition was filed on Feb. 4 in Circuit Court of Orange County, not far from where Sorenstam and David Esch live in the gated community of Lake Nona. The suit has been sealed, and no other details were available.
"They're made an amicable decision to terminate the relationship," Orlando-based attorney Mayanne Downs told the magazine. "They're going to try to keep it personal and private. That's all I'm at liberty to say."
Sorenstam's agent, Mark Steinberg, was traveling in Asia and not immediately available for comment.
Sorenstam had hinted at early retirement in recent years, saying she might want to start a family.
But rumors that the marriage was rocky began last year when Esch, highly visible through his Swedish wife's career, stopped traveling as frequently. Esch began to work in real estate near their summer home in Incline, Nevada.
He was last seen at the Samsung World Championship in Palm Desert, California in October, when Sorenstam shot 67 in the final round to win.
But he was not at the season-ending ADT Championship, when Sorenstam was presented with her seventh LPGA player of the year award. Sorenstam thanked her husband in the acceptance speech, then went on to win her eighth LPGA Tour event of 2004.
Sorenstam also was at Kapalua to play in the pro-am at the US PGA Tour's season-opening Mercedes Championships last month. She spent three days on Maui with her sister, Charlotta.
Sorenstam, 34, and Esch, 35, met in 1994 at Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix, where Esch worked for Ping.
They got engaged at the end of 1995, after Sorenstam won the US Women's Open. They married on Jan. 4, 1997.
BOOT TO FACE: Wilfried Singo said that his actions were not intentional, ‘but I was able to see afterwards that’ the ’keeper had a significant face injury Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday came from behind to extend their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a 4-2 win away against AS Monaco, but lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a gruesome facial injury. The bloodied Italy international was left requiring 10 staples after sustaining lacerations to the right side of his face when he was caught by the studs of Monaco defender Wilfried Singo. “I don’t know if the referee was badly positioned, but VAR [video assistant referee] needed to intervene, you have to protect the players,” PSG captain Marquinhos said. “To not give a red in a situation like
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Zach LaVine on Thursday scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory against defending NBA champions the Boston Celtics, while LeBron James once again made history. LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season. “We’re a good team,” LaVine said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.” Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to rally past
Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior on Tuesday won The Best FIFA Men’s Player award at a ceremony in Doha, while Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati picked up the women’s prize for the second time. The award came two months after 24-year-old Vinicius was second in the Ballon d’Or, with Real Madrid electing to snub the ceremony when they found out beforehand that Manchester City midfielder Rodri was set to win the trophy. This time, the Brazilian was on hand to collect the prize in person as he is in Qatar with his club ahead of their Intercontinental Cup final clash with Mexico’s Pachuca. “Thank
RSS