Sue Barker was the face of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage for 30 years before she walked away from the iconic Centre Court for the final time in 2022.
The former pro won the French Open in 1976 and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals the following year. Speaking at the New Wimbledon Theatre about her book, Wimbledon: A Personal History, she opened up about returning to the tournament as a fan, her very public departure from A Question Of Sport, and her encounters with tennis-mad members of the royal family.
“I went last year as a fan. It was different,” she says. “I have to say, walking in on the first day I didn’t know what to do with myself because I wanted to go into the studio and argue with John McEnroe and Tim Henman! I queued up with my husband for a hot dog.
“For the men’s final I sat in my members’ seat and it was Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. It was nuts, and the guy next to me was Sir Ian McKellen. He started getting so excited in the third set and he started grabbing me and the next thing he was jumping up and screaming. At the end of the third set I was jumping up, going, ‘Go on, Carlitos!’”
Sue left A Question Of Sport in 2020 after the BBC decided to revamp the quiz. She later said she thought the corporation could have “handled it better”. Now, she says that played into her decision to quit her Wimbledon anchor role two years later.
Sue, would you ever consider returning to present the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage?
Yes, I would. I loved it. I loved the people and I didn’t want to leave. But you start hearing rumours of what is happening and [the BBC] obviously wants the next generation, and when you start hearing those rumours you think, “Maybe it’s time to get out while they still want me rather than being shoved out of the back door.”
The sacking from A Question Of Sport hurt so much that I thought, “I don’t want to go through that again.” I wanted to get out at the top. We are doing the A Question Of Sport theatre show next year. I have my WhatsApp group with Phil Tufnell and Matt Dawson. We’ll be friends for life.
People are hoping that the Princess of Wales will be at Wimbledon this year…
We’re hoping she will be well enough, as she absolutely loves it. She and William love tennis.
I had the privilege of going to Kensington Palace to interview Kate about Wimbledon. I was so nervous. She told me how they used to queue up as the Middleton family and get tickets. One Wimbledon they were standing outside Centre Court and Pete Sampras had just beaten Tim Henman. As Tim walked past, her father shouted out to him, “Well played, Pete.” She said she was mortified! I once met Diana, Princess of Wales, on the stairs at Wimbledon. She just walked past and said, “Hello, Sue. How are you?” I couldn’t speak – I was thrilled!
Has anyone else left you starstruck?
The most memorable was Pierce Brosnan. We scoured the royal box one year and spotted him, and got him up for 15 minutes on BBC One. He had to run, as it was a long route, and he started to sweat profusely, so they had to pat him down. It carried on and they gave him some tissues, and with about two minutes to go he asked if he could go, as he was dying, and I said, “No, Pierce. You can’t. We have two minutes to go before the news.” He was an absolute trouper and the best guest ever.
What about the players?
Roger Federer is probably the greatest. He is wonderful and smells nice. He is Mr Wimbledon to me. He is definitely the king.
You were signed to the same agent as Björn Borg. What was he really like?
He was like a rock star. Girls came on to Centre Court to mob him and he changed the face of Wimbledon.
Björn was a very superstitious man and he had to stay in the same hotel in Swiss Cottage every year, but the downside was everybody knew where he was staying. He was mobbed 24/7.
Has tennis changed over the years?
I don’t think the same camaraderie exists today. We had a very, very special bond and back then we didn’t have entourages. We used to console each other and we all became incredibly close. I loved every minute.
I think these youngsters who are thrown into the spotlight, they find it all a bit too much.
What do you think about Emma Raducanu?
I hope that she gets her confidence back. She was a breath of fresh air. It just seems to have gone downhill for her with all the pressure and expectation, but we shall see.
You’re tennis royalty – you have a CBE and an OBE from the royal family. Did you ever get to meet Queen Elizabeth II?
The late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh invited me to a private lunch at Buckingham Palace. I was sitting next to the duke and the Queen was opposite. There was the boss of a London hotel there, too. After the lunch we were invited for coffee in the Blue Room, so off they went with the corgis. The hotel guy said, “I will take the name tags if you get a couple of menus and put them in your handbag.” We were giggling away and as we opened the door there was this equerry with bags. He said, “There are some souvenirs. You see, you didn’t have to take the ones off the table.”
I was mortified.
How do you feel now about missing out on the 1977 Wimbledon final?
I will never get over it. I once asked Virginia Wade [that year’s winner] if it changed her and she said, “No.” She later told me she had bought a place in New York, a home in London, and a place in Kent. I had to go and work for a living! But if I had won and swanned off to Monaco on my yacht, I would never have had 30 years working for the BBC.
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