A personal history

Wimbledon

'The thing about our Sue is that she just is Wimbledon.' John McEnroe 
 
Sue Barker first walked through those famous SW19 gates aged 13 in 1969, to play in the National Schools event. She knelt down and picked some blades of grass, wrapped them up in a tissue and took them home. Her own bit of Wimbledon. 
 
What Sue didn't know then, was that every year for the next half century, she would be back in some capacity. As a junior, aged 15, as a semi-finalist and Grand-Slam winner ranked No 3 in the world, and as a broadcaster leading the BBC coverage for thirty years. 
 
And now she returns as a storyteller. Wimbledon has a magic that draws people in, players and fans. It respects tradition, but embraces the future and stays relevant. Sue goes in search of what sets this place apart. She talks to the greats of tennis, her former mentors, contemporaries on the circuit, friends and colleagues, and they tell their stories of their own triumphs and disasters, reveal how Wimbledon changed their lives, and what it has meant to them. 
 
Sue's personal history of Wimbledon is as tightly packed with stories as the courts are with blades of grass. From the most memorable matches to the fashions and trends, the famous rivalries, the upsets and the 'You Cannot Be Serious' unforgettable moments, this is a Centre Court seat on all the riveting drama that has defined British sporting summers for all of our lifetimes.

Sue Barker CBE is an award-winning broadcaster and former professional tennis player. During her tennis career she won fifteen WTA singles titles, including a Grand Slam - the French Open in 1976, aged 20. At her career height she was Britain's No 1 player, with a world ranking of No 3. 
 
As a broadcaster, in 2001 she became the first woman to win the Royal Television Society's best sports presenter award. She led the BBC's reporting on the Olympics for over a decade, including London 2012. She anchored SPOTY for 19 years, was quizmaster on A Question of Sport for 24 years and fronted coverage of Wimbledon for three decades. 
 
In 2020, she won The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. 
 
Sue lives in the Cotswolds with her husband Lance. Calling the Shots is her first book.

Sue Barker

Calling the Shots

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