Liberal Party courting controversy amid questions about Sam Groth’s relationship

Former tennis star Sam Groth’s relationship with his now wife has come under scrutiny, with Liberal colleagues concerned that it began when she was only 17.

Liberal colleagues of Sam Groth have raised questions about how the deputy leader began his relationship with wife Brittany, amid concerns it could constitute a criminal offence and may be weaponised in the election campaign.

Both Mr Groth and Brittany have admitted they got together when he was coaching at Templestowe Park tennis club in 2011, while on a break from the professional circuit.

At the time, he would have been 23 or 24 and she would have been 16 or 17 – as she did not turn 18 until April 2012.

Under Victorian law, it is a criminal offence to engage in a sexual relationship with someone under the age of 18 if they are under your care or supervision.

“If you are between 16 and 17 years old, even if you agree, a person who is caring for you or supervising you (like a teacher, youth worker or foster carer) can’t have sex with you, touch you sexually or get you to touch them sexually, perform a sexual act in front of you,” the law states.

Sam Groth and his now wife Brittany in Paris in 2013.

This masthead understands Mr Groth has been quizzed by a number of colleagues on the issue since he was elevated to deputy leader in December.

Some MPs have aired misgivings about the optics of the circumstances in which the relationship began.

Others have raised concerns that it could impact the party’s chances of winning next year’s election, given Mr Groth’s swift rise to a leadership position.

Several Labor MPs are also aware of the issue, with one senior source who wished to remain anonymous saying “what he has done is really not appropriate”.

Mr Groth did not respond to queries from this masthead on the matter yesterday.

Opposition leader Brad Battin instead responded with a statement saying: “Any attempt to besmirch the relationship of Sam, Britt and their children is a disgrace. Politics is a dirty business, but this attack has hit a new low in public life.”

Sam Groth and wife Brittany at the 2024 Derby Day.

Sam Groth and wife Brittany at the 2024 Australian Open.

In a interview with this masthead last year, Brittany said she did not know who Mr Groth was when she first saw him at the tennis club.

“I was like ‘OK, nice to meet you, cool’ and over time we ended up hitting with each other and connecting from there,” she said.

When Mr Groth suggested in the interview that Brittany fell for him first, she responded: “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,” she said.

The pair also briefly addressed the beginning of their relationship in a tennischannel.com video at the French Open in 2017.

“We met during my year off. So I had that year off in 2011 where I sort of stepped away from tennis,” Mr Groth said.

“We are actually from the same suburb in Melbourne, and I was coaching it at a club and Brit was playing a little bit there –- yeah we sort of met through that time.”

Sam Groth and Brittany Groth discussing their relationship in 2017.

In the video, Ms Groth said: “Yeah 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.”

Mr Groth split from his first wife, tennis star Jarmila Wolfe, in early 2011.

A source at the club said Brittany, who was a student at the exclusive Methodist Ladies College in 2011, was a talented young player working towards a career in college tennis in the US.

“She was 17. 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,” the source said.

“Brittany was training with Sam ... They kept their relationship going when she went to Richmond College in the US.”

Sam Groth and Brittany Groth in Paris in 2013.

Sam Groth and Brittany Groth at Crown in 2014.

Mr Groth – who still holds the record for the world’s fastest serve at 263kmh – took the break from professional tennis due to a shoulder injury and the breakdown of his first marriage, with him also playing local football at Vermont.

The couple married in November 2018.

Even if Mr Groth did not have direct authority over his now wife at the time they met, legal experts said it could still be a problem.

A Victorian Supreme Court test case found a 27-year-old teacher guilty of an offence when she had sex with a teenager who attended her school, even though the teacher did not have direct authority over the year 11 student and the act occurred off-campus.

This masthead was alerted to the potential legal problems with the relationship after the couple was criticised for using a taxpayer-funded car to travel 100km home to Rye after a day of drinking at the Australian Open tennis.

Originally published as Liberal Party courting controversy amid questions about Sam Groth’s relationship