Sue Barker: I left Wimbledon on my own terms
Sue Barker has said she wanted to leave Wimbledon on her “own terms” rather than be “pushed out the door”, as she referenced her exit from A Question Of Sport after 24 years.
The former professional tennis player, 66, bid a tearful farewell to Wimbledon this year after 30 years of covering the tennis event for the BBC.
It came two years after the broadcaster announced Paddy McGuinness would be taking over her role as host of A Question Of Sport, alongside Sam Quek and Ugo Monye who replaced the show’s team captains, Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell.
Barker told Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs: “Matt and Tuffers, we are like best mates, we had such a bond and we absolutely loved that programme.
“We were devastated when it came to an end but all good things must come to an end. It wasn’t our choice and we sort of knew it was coming.
“The way it was handled made me think about Wimbledon and the way I wanted to walk
away on my own terms rather than be pushed out the door.
“To be taken into a room after 24 years and be told, ‘We don’t want you anymore’, I just wish they handled the end a little better.”
In July, Barker announced her retirement from covering Wimbledon.
“I knew it was going to be sad, I love the job, I love Wimbledon, it is in my DNA,” Barker said.
“I love the people I work with even more, but you just have to pick when the time is right to go.”
Barker chose the soundtrack to Wimbledon’s Parade Of Champions 2022 as her first desert island disc.
She said: “It was so wonderful and at the end of it, John McEnroe decided to say ‘Well done’ to me for 30 years and the crowds reaction went on and on and for them to give me that ovation, I thought, ‘Job done’.”