Sue Barker was back at Wimbledon on Sunday and the BBC icon was given a rousing reception by the Centre Court crowd. The former TV presenter, who had a long and successful association with the All England Club, was seated in the Royal Box among sporting royalty on middle Sunday in south west London.
Royal Box Reception
Alongside cricketers Sir Andrew Strauss and Sir Jimmy Anderson, rugby players Matt Dawson, Will Greenwood, Dan Biggar and Alun Wyn Jones, as well as England World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst, Barker occupied a prime seating position ahead of Novak Djokovic's third-round match against qualifier Roman Safiullin. The biggest cheer of the day went to Barker, who looked visibly moved when her name was read out by Clare Balding.
Departure from BBC
Barker left the BBC four years ago, departing her Wimbledon role on her own terms, believing she would eventually be "pushed out." She had presented from the All England Club since 1993, following a successful playing career that included winning the French Open in 1976.
"I just sensed that, as you get older, you've got not many years left. And when you're hearing that they're having meetings about who's to replace you..." Barker told The Telegraph a couple of years ago. She continued: "Although they offered me a contract, I suddenly thought over those three years [on the contract extension], will it be a case of: 'We'll just diminish Sue's role a little so that the transition is slightly easier.' And I didn't want to be diminished. I'd rather go out doing the top job. So maybe it came a couple of years before I was ready to do it. But in hindsight, it was absolutely the right time."
Speaking to Woman's Hour in 2023, she added: "I wanted to do Wimbledon on my own terms. BBC Sport offered me a new contract, but I knew with age and time and with everything that's happening around that over the next few years I would get phased out slightly."
Tributes and Legacy
Her exit video was an emotional one, with tributes flooding in from longtime colleagues. Martina Navratilova said: "She's giving up the baton but I'm not sure anybody can pick it up," while John McEnroe added: "You see the thing about our Sue, she just is Wimbledon."
Barker recently commented on the exit of longstanding Wimbledon commentator Andrew Castle, with the BBC wanting to take their coverage in a new direction. Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of Wimbledon, Barker said: "In the early 1990s, when I was starting at Sky TV, Andrew was my pundit. The tennis was in a Portakabin in the car park. It was freezing in winter - we used to get carbon monoxide poisoning from people running their car engines just outside - and in the summer, we'd be wiping off the sweat and checking our faces for pieces of tissue. But we had so much fun together."
She added: "As a presenter, I always loved having Andrew in the studio, because he offered something a bit different. I'm sad that this news has come as a bit of a shock to him, but it feels that way for all of us, because we love what we do so much. I would much rather be working than sitting at home, but you have to make way for the next generation."
