Annabel Croft mugged outside Kings Cross St Pancras station

Ms Croft revealed she was "traumatised" by the theft, which took place as she waited for a taxi.

The British number one and junior Wimbledon champion, who recently wowed audiences on Strictly Come Dancing, was checking to see where her taxi was when the incident occurred.

She said on ITV's This Morning: "I was aware of this bike coming towards me from a distance.

The former tennis star was checking to see where her taxi was when she was mugged (Image: PA)

"The next thing I knew, he was literally at me and one-handedly, very skilfully, snatched the phone right out of my hand as I was looking at the app."

Ms Croft screamed "all sorts of expletives" as the mugger rode off with her mobile.

Luckily, the thief then dropped her phone.

She said: "My instinct, quite wrongly, was to chase after him, because I was thinking, what on earth am I going to do without my phone?

"I think he was deciding whether to come back and try and get it and then I was so lucky that there was a very nice gentleman across the street that could see how distressed I was and he helped me."

The tennis player is now warning others about having their phones out.

Annabel Croft came fourth in the last series of Strictly Come Dancing (Image: PA)

Ms Croft said: "I just want to warn people that if you’re on a street corner, and you have your phone out, just be aware.

"It didn’t even occur to me that I was going to be a target.

"But I realised in hindsight that he was out there looking for targets.

"So, you know, please just be aware of if you’re on a street corner … I would hate anybody to have that same experience because it is quite terrifying.”

The mum-of-three said she is "worried about her kids" and said it's "not very safe" anymore in the city.

It comes amidst a spate of phone snatchings in London in recent months, with a mobile reported as stolen in the capital every six minutes.

Last year alone, nearly 52,000 devices were reported stolen.