Sue Barker sadly says last Wimbledon at BBC is ‘still emotional to think about’

Sue Barker has revealed exclusively to Express.co.uk that she still gets emotional over the end of her broadcasting role at Wimbledon.

The tennis star, 67, said goodbye to her presenting job at Wimbledon after 30 years in 2022, and she has now poignantly reflected on her “unbelievable” farewell.

Sue was the face of Wimbledon at the BBC, and although her departure was her decision, “it’s still emotional to think about”.

On her final day of hosting for BBC Sport, her friend and fellow professional tennis legend John McEnroe, 64, paid tribute to her on-air, alongside tennis icon Billie Jean King, 79.

Recalling her last tournament, Sue said: “It’s still emotional to think about, you know, what happened.

“And dear old John McEnroe was just wonderful. I mean, he was so supportive.

“So it really touched me that he did the voiceover for my tribute and all the things that he said to me on court and everything.

“It just meant the world to me, because these are the people who I admired, who are legends of the game, and I know them, they’re friends of mine. We all played sort of in the same era, so I’ve known them for a long time.

“But those are the people who have done so much broadcasting, so to say the kind things that they did just absolutely blew me away.”

The former A Question of Sport host went on to admit that the kind words from her contemporaries and from tennis champions of today allowed her to leave with her “head held high”.

Sue added: “So all of them, Billie Jean, Chrissie [Evert], Martina [Navratilova], it was amazing, and then the players of today; Roger [Federer] and Rafael [Nadal], it was unbelievable, and Andy [Murray] and Tim [Henman].

“That just meant so much to me, and made me really walk away head held high, and that’s what I wanted to do.”

Despite the heartache over her farewell to working at Wimbledon, Sue also told Express.co.uk that she feels “very relaxed” about this year’s tournament, as she is free of having to listen to commentary about the players and noting it all down.

She explained: “I can just sit with my feet up and not just listen. It’s lovely, I’m really enjoying it, so it’s no problem.

“I mean, that’s a job I loved, and I will miss it.

“But I will also look forward to what’s coming and how I can enjoy Wimbledon in whatever I do next, you know, just as a fan, as a member of the club, so it will be all good.”