Sue Barker has been honoured with a British Tennis Journalists Association (BTJA) award for services to tennis in recognition of her long career and a near 30-year spell as the BBC’s host of their Wimbledon coverage. The 66-year-old bade an emotional farewell to the tournament this year as she announced her retirement from television.
Barker fronted the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon since 1993 after a successful tennis career which saw her reach a high of world No 3 in 1977, winning 15 titles including the French Open in 1976.
However, she took a step back from the tennis limelight following Novak Djokovic’s seventh title win as she looked to take the step into retirement. She has now been rewarded for her efforts by the BTJA who gave her their Services to British Tennis Award in recognition of her long career.
“I had a wonderful Wimbledon this year, and those tributes will live with me forever, but so will this award,” she said after it was announced. “It means so much to get it from people like you, who I respect so much. and I hope that our paths will cross around the grounds somewhere next year.”
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“I’ll miss the job, I wish I had the next 30 years because I love it, but most of all I’m going to miss the people I work with in front of the camera, behind the camera. You’ve just been absolutely amazing. I’ve just been so proud to front the programme. Thank you.”
It is not yet clear who will take the reigns of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage next year, with a successor for Barker yet to be announced. Clare Balding is the strong favourite having been a BBC stalwart since joining the corporation back in 1994 and presenting the ‘Today at Wimbledon’ highlights show since 2015.
