Sue Barker

Susan Barker, MBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (born 19 April 1956 in Paignton

Paignton

Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 television presenter and former professional tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 player. During her tennis career, she won the women's singles title at the French Open and reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3. She is now one of the main sports presenters at the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

.

Tennis career

Barker's tennis career began in 1973 and she won her first top-level singles title in 1974. She won three additional titles in 1975. Barker first reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

 tournament in 1975 at the Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

. She won the German Open

Qatar Telecom German Open

The German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women...

 in 1976, beating Renáta Tomanová

Renáta Tomanová

Renáta Tomanová is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia.In 1976, Tomanová reached the singles final at both the French Open and the Australian Open. She lost at the French Open to Sue Barker 6–2, 0–6, 6–2 and at the Australian Open to Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–2, 6–2...

 of Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 in the final 6–3, 6–1, and won the French Open the same year, again defeating Tomanová in the final. In 1977 she won two singles titles, reached the semifinals at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open, and upset Martina Navratilova to reach the Virginia Slims Tour Championships

WTA Tour Championships

The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...

 final, where she lost in three sets to Chris Evert

Chris Evert

Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...

.

After an injury-plagued 1978 during which her ranking dropped to World No. 24, she won three singles titles and reached three other finals in 1979. She was named the tour's "Comeback Player of the Year" by her fellow professionals. Barker reached one final in 1980 and won the last singles title of her career at Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 in 1981, finishing the year ranked World No. 16. She won her last doubles title in 1982 at Cincinnati, and played her last professional match in 1984.

In all, Barker won 11 singles titles and 12 doubles titles, posting wins over Evert, Navratilova, Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...

, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Tracy Austin

Tracy Austin

Tracy Ann Austin Holt is a former World No. 1 female professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut her career short.-To 1980:Austin defeated...

, Virginia Wade

Virginia Wade

Sarah Virginia Wade, OBE is a former English tennis player. She won three Grand Slam singles championships and four Grand Slam doubles championships. She won the women's singles championship at Wimbledon on 1 July 1977, in that tournament's centenary year, the last time any Briton has won a...

, Maria Bueno

Maria Bueno

Maria Esther Andion Bueno is a former professional tennis player from Brazil. During her 11-year career , she won 19 Major titles ....

, Rosemary Casals

Rosemary Casals

Rosemary "Rosie" Casals is a former American professional tennis player.Rosemary Casals earned her reputation as a rebel in the staid tennis world when she began competing in the early 1960s. During a tennis career that spanned more than two decades, she won more than 90 tournaments and worked for...

, Andrea Jaeger and Pam Shriver

Pam Shriver

Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...

. Her forehand

Forehand

The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot...

 was her strongest weapon, with her coach Arthur Roberts describing it as "especially potent".

Singles: 1 final (1 title, 0 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1976	French Open	Clay	Renáta Tomanová Renáta Tomanová Renáta Tomanová is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia.In 1976, Tomanová reached the singles final at both the French Open and the Australian Open. She lost at the French Open to Sue Barker 6–2, 0–6, 6–2 and at the Australian Open to Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–2, 6–2...	6–2, 0–6, 6–2

Singles: 1 final (0 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1977	New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	Carpet (i)	Chris Evert Chris Evert Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...	2–6, 6–1, 6–1

Doubles: 1 final (0 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1979	New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	Carpet (i)	Ann Kiyomura Ann Kiyomura Ann Kiyomura-Hayashi is a former professional tennis player.Kiyomura played on the WTA Tour from 1973 to 1984. She played in 11 US Opens, reaching the fourth round in 1978. In 1975, she won the Wimbledon women's doubles title, playing with Kazuko Sawamatsu...	Françoise Durr Françoise Durr Françoise Durr is a retired tennis player from France. She won 26 major singles titles and over 60 doubles titles....     Betty Stöve Betty Stöve Betty Stöve is a former Dutch professional tennis player. She is best remembered for reaching the ladies' singles final at Wimbledon in 1977. She also won ten Grand Slam titles in women's doubles and mixed doubles.-Career:...	7–6, 7–6

Singles (11)

Legend Grand Slam Grand Slam (tennis) The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...  (1)

Titles by Surface Hard (0) Clay (5) Grass (2) Carpet (4)

No.	Date	Location	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
1.	8 July 1974	Båstad, Sweden Swedish Open The SkiStar Swedish Open is an ATP World Tour 250 series tennis tournament on the ATP Tour held in Båstad, Sweden in July each year.The Collector Swedish Open Women is a tennis tournament held in Båstad, Sweden...	Clay	Marijve Jansen Schaar	6–1, 7–5
2.	7 July 1975	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Helga Niessen Masthoff Helga Niessen Masthoff Helga Niessen Masthoff is a former tennis player from West Germany. Her best Grand Slam singles tournament was when she reached the 1970 French Open final, losing to Margaret Court 6–2, 6–4. She won the German Open three consecutive years from 1972 through 1974, beating Martina Navratilova in the...	6–4, 6–0
3.	14 July 1975	Kitzbühel, Austria Gastein Ladies Nürnberger Gastein Ladies is a tennis tournament held in Bad Gastein, Austria since 2007. It is an International event on the WTA Tour with total prize money of $220,000 and is played on red clay.-Singles:-Doubles:- External links :* *...	Clay	Pam Teeguarden Pam Teeguarden Pam Teeguarden was an American professional tennis player in the 1970s and 1980s, reaching the top 30 in the world. Her father Jerry, together with Teeguarden, helped Virginia Wade to her 1977 Wimbledon triumph....	6–4, 6-4
4.	1 December 1975	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Helga Niessen Masthoff	6–2, 6–1
5.	26 April 1976	Hamburg, West Germany	Clay	Renáta Tomanová Renáta Tomanová Renáta Tomanová is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia.In 1976, Tomanová reached the singles final at both the French Open and the Australian Open. She lost at the French Open to Sue Barker 6–2, 0–6, 6–2 and at the Australian Open to Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–2, 6–2...	6–3, 6–1
6.	31 May 1976	French Open, Paris	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	6–2, 0–6, 6–2
7.	28 February 1977	San Francisco, USA Bank of the West Classic The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...	Carpet (i)	Virginia Wade Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade, OBE is a former English tennis player. She won three Grand Slam singles championships and four Grand Slam doubles championships. She won the women's singles championship at Wimbledon on 1 July 1977, in that tournament's centenary year, the last time any Briton has won a...	6–3, 6–4
8.	7 March 1977	Dallas, USA	Carpet (i)	Terry Holladay	6–1, 7–6(4)
9.	10 September 1979	Pittsburgh, USA Pittsburgh Open The Pittsburgh Open is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1979 to 1984. It was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States and played on indoor carpet courts.-Singles:-Doubles:-References:*...	Carpet (i)	Renée Richards Renee Richards Renée Richards is an American ophthalmologist, author and former professional tennis player. In 1975, Richards underwent sex reassignment surgery. She is known for initially being denied entry into the 1976 US Open by the United States Tennis Association, citing an unprecedented women-born-women...	6–3, 6–1
10.	3 December 1979	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Rosalyn Fairbank Rosalyn Fairbank Rosalyn Doris Fairbank-Nideffer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. She played her first grand slam in 1979, with her last appearance coming as late as 1997...	6–0, 7–5
11.	19 October 1981	Brighton, UK Brighton International The Brighton International was a tennis tournament held in Brighton, UK. It was a WTA Tour event from 1978-1995 and an ATP Tour event from 1996-2000, upon the discontinuation of the women's tournament. The women's event was held in October....	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec Mima Jaušovec Mima Jaušovec is a Slovenian female former tennis player. She was born on July 20, 1956, in Maribor, PR Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia). In singles she reached a career high of No. 6 in 1982, in doubles she reached a career high of No. 211 in 1986....	4–6, 6–1, 6–1

Doubles (12)

• 1974: Båstad (with Glynis Coles-Bond
  Glynis Coles
  Glynis Coles , also known by her married name Glynis Coles-Bond, is a retired English professional tennis player.Coles played professionally between 1970 and 1988, playing both singles and doubles...
  
  )
• 1975: Kitzbühel (with Pam Teeguarden
  Pam Teeguarden
  Pam Teeguarden was an American professional tennis player in the 1970s and 1980s, reaching the top 30 in the world. Her father Jerry, together with Teeguarden, helped Virginia Wade to her 1977 Wimbledon triumph....
  
  )
• 1975: Adelaide (with Michelle Tyler-Wilson)
• 1976: Hilton Head Island (with Evonne Goolagong Cawley
  Evonne Goolagong
  Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley, AO, MBE is a former World No. 1 Australian female tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, when she won 14 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles , six in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.-Early life:Goolagong is the...
  
  )
• 1979: Pittsburgh (with Candy Reynolds
  Candy Reynolds
  Candy Reynolds is a former professional tennis player from the United States.-Career:During her career, Reynolds won the women's doubles title at the French Open in 1983...
  
  )
• 1980: Oakland (with Ann Kiyomura
  Ann Kiyomura
  Ann Kiyomura-Hayashi is a former professional tennis player.Kiyomura played on the WTA Tour from 1973 to 1984. She played in 11 US Opens, reaching the fourth round in 1978. In 1975, she won the Wimbledon women's doubles title, playing with Kazuko Sawamatsu...
  
  )

• 1981: Houston (with Ann Kiyomura)
• 1981: Los Angeles (with Ann Kiyomura)
• 1981: Tokyo, Bridgestone Doubles (with Ann Kiyomura)
• 1981: Surbiton (with Ann Kiyomura)
• 1981: Richmond (with Ann Kiyomura)
• 1982: Cincinnati (with Ann Kiyomura)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	Career SR
Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	A	3R	SF	2R	A	SF	QF	A	3R	3R	1R	A	A	0 / 8
French Open	A	A	3R	W	A		A	2R	A	1R	A	A	1R	1 / 5
Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...	2R	1R	3R	QF	SF		4R	1R	2R	3R	1R	1R	2R	0 / 12
US Open	A	A	2R	4R	3R		A	2R	A	2R	A	A	1R	0 / 6
SR	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 4	1 / 4	0 / 3		0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 3	1 / 31

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December. Barker played in only the December tournament.

Broadcasting career

Upon retiring from tennis Barker became a commentator and sports reporter for Australia's Channel 7

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 in 1985 before going on to anchor tennis coverage for British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....

 in 1990. In 1993, Barker joined the Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

 coverage on the BBC and now anchors the two-week-long broadcast for the network. One of the annual features of the coverage sees Barker reminiscing with former rivals Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert

Chris Evert

Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...

, Pam Shriver

Pam Shriver

Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...

, and Tracy Austin

Tracy Austin

Tracy Ann Austin Holt is a former World No. 1 female professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut her career short.-To 1980:Austin defeated...

 during Wimbledon's rain delays.

Barker has branched out since joining the BBC, becoming one of their chief sports presenters and she is currently the presenter of the sports quiz show

Quiz Show

Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...

 A Question Of Sport

A Question of Sport

A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 2 December 1968 and continues to this day. It is currently recorded at The Studios, MediaCityUK...

.

Barker has hosted BBC Sport's coverage of the Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

, the French Open, Queens Club Championships, Eastbourne, and Wimbledon. For the remainder of the year, the tennis events she will host include Davis Cup

Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...

, the Summer Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

, and the Albert Hall Masters. Other sporting events she has hosted have included the Grand National (1996–2006), The Derby (2001–2007), Racing at Ascot and Longchamp (1995–1999), Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury

Newbury, Berkshire

Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...

, The Great North Run, World Athletics Championships and European Athletics Championships (1999–2009), Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....

 (since 1994), Winter Olympics (since 1994), and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

In June 1999, she co-presented coverage of HRH Prince Edward

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO is the third son and fourth child of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh...

's wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones at Windsor

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...

 alongside Michael Buerk

Michael Buerk

Michael Duncan Buerk is a BBC journalist and newsreader, most famous for his reporting of the Ethiopian famine on 23 October 1984, which inspired the Band Aid charity record.-Early life:...

. Barker had introduced Rhys-Jones to Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son at a charity function a few years earlier.

In 2008, Barker and the BBC extended her contract to cover the London 2012 Olympic Games. It is estimated to be worth £375,000 a year.

Personal life

Barker had a brief relationship with singer Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....

 which made headlines in the early 1980s. Richard revealed in 2008 that he had come close to asking her to marry him, but decided that he "didn't love her quite enough". Barker is married to policeman Lance Tankard and lives in Surrey. She is a famous fan of rottweilers.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final
  Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)
  This article presents in a tabular form the career tennis Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships and Olympic singles results of every woman who has reached the singles final of at least one Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships or Olympic tournament during her career...
  
  

External links