Three decades of presenting has resulted in Sue Barker becoming synonymous with the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage, but this year will be her last covering the grand slam.
Barker, 66, is a household name in the UK, with the 1976 French Open champion first joining the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon back in 1993.
She went on to become the broadcaster’s anchor for the event in 2000, a role which has included interviewing a host of champions on court after their victories on the final weekend.
“What a wonderful time I’ve had working on some of the biggest sporting events around the world,” Barker said.
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“I will miss it terribly but after 30 years I feel the time is right for me. I’ve worked with the best of the best.”
Barker will call time on her BBC career after the men’s final on Sunday 10 July, where it is likely tributes will take place on Centre Court after 30 years of covering the championships.
The former Question of Sport presenter said she is going out on her own terms and leaves the role with “no regrets”.
“Basically I just feel the time is right. It has been my dream job and I have loved every minute of it working with so many great colleagues who I am going to miss so much,” she told the Daily Mail.
“When I started I never thought I would manage 30 years. I had actually made up my mind to leave in 2017 because the hours were becoming very long and quite challenging. That would have been 25 years and seemed a good time, but I am so glad I made the decision to stay on.
“I’m very happy to be leaving with no regrets and on my own terms while I am still on top of the job, it just feels like the right time to go and leave it to others. Queen’s [the pre-Wimbledon event] has also been a big part of it and it’s a tournament that is very close to my heart.”
How to watch Wimbledon on BBC
Wimbledon will be live on the BBC from 11am daily (10.30am on day one), with coverage on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
Multi-court coverage is available on BBC iPlayer, the red button, the BBC Sport app and the BBC Sport website.
The daily “Today at Wimbledon” highlights show will be on BBC Two and across their digital platforms at 8.30pm.
BBC’s Wimbledon commentators, pundits and presenters
Barker will be at the helm for the final time, and joining her on presenting duties will be Isa Guha, the ex-England cricketer who will open the coverage each day before handing over to Barker.
Clare Balding will then host the daily “Today At Wimbledon” highlights show.
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Among the former tennis players set to join the BBC’s television coverage are:
Tracy Austin – The former world No 1 reached the Wimbledon semi-final twice and won the US Open in 1979 and 1981.
Pat Cash – Won Wimbledon in 1987, with the Australian famously scaling his way up to the player’s box on Centre Court to celebrate with friends and family.
Annabel Croft – The former British No 1, who reached the Wimbledon third round in 1984, is a regular fixture on the BBC’s television and radio coverage.
Johanna Konta – Another former British No 1, the 31-year-old retired last year after a career in which she won four WTA titles, reached a high of fourth in the world rankings, and made three grand slam semi-finals (Australian Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017, French Open 2019).
Billie Jean King – The legendary American, 78, became a pioneer for women’s rights during her storied playing career, which included six singles and 14 doubles titles at Wimbledon alone.
John McEnroe – Three of the American’s seven grand slam singles wins came at Wimbledon, with the former world No 1, 68, also winning five doubles titles at SW19.
Martina Navratilova – The most successful tennis player of the Open era, with nine singles and 11 doubles titles at Wimbledon among her record combined total of 59 major triumphs.
Tim Henman – So popular they named the hill at Wimbledon after him, the former British No 1 carried home hopes for over a decade, but painfully exited at the semi-final stage on four occasions and never reached a grand slam final.
Caroline Wozniacki – A former world No 1, the Dane retired in 2020 – won the Australian Open in 2018 but was never able to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, losing in the fourth round on six occasions.
The BBC’s commentary will come from Chris Bradnam, James Burridge, Andrew Castle, Matt Chilton, Kim Clijsters, Andrew Cotter, Kat Downes, Jo Durie, Colin Fleming, Peter Fleming, Paul Hand, John Inverdale, Abigail Johnson, David Law, Nick Lester, John Lloyd, Miles MacLagan, Ronald McIntosh, Alison Mitchell, Nick Mullins, Pete Odgers, Arvind Parmar, Louise Pleming, Simon Reed, Sam Smith, Liz Smylie, Mel South and Andy Stevenson.
BBC radio coverage at Wimbledon
Tony Livesey and Gigi Salmon will present BBC Radio 5 Live’s coverage from Wimbledon each day.
Former Wimbledon singles champions Pat Cash and Marion Bartoli will be on hand for expert analysis, as well as former world No 1 Kim Clijsters.
Naomi Broady, Annabel Croft, Miles Maclagan, Laura Robson, Chanda Rubin, Leon Smith, Jeff Tarango and Mark Woodforde will also be on the BBC’s radio coverage of the event.
A new Wimbledon Daily podcast will be fronted by Jonathan Overend and will be available on BBC Sounds.
“6 love 6” returns with John McEnroe and Tim Henman taking listeners’ calls on Thursday 30 June and Monday 4 July.
5 Live’s radio commentary is led by Russell Fuller, along with Iain Carter, Naomi Cavaday, Abigail Johnson, David Law, Alison Mitchell, Sara Orchard, Jonathan Overend and Gigi Salmon. Aaron Paul will provide additional reporting from around the grounds.
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