“You cannot be serious,” said John McEnroe, only this time it was not to any chair umpire but to Sue Barker, the legendary BBC presenter of the Wimbledon Championships.
McEnroe was reacting to the news that 2022 will be Barker’s last year in that role during his live appearance alongside her to preview the opening of 2022 proceedings on Centre Court.
Barker has confirmed she will be hanging up her microphone after 30 years.
Barker is one of Britain’s more successful women players, winning the French Open in 1976 and reaching the Wimbledon semi-final the following year. She joined the presenting team for the British tournament in 1993 and since 2000 has anchored the network’s broadcast.
“Basically I just feel the time is right. It has been my dream job and I have loved every minute of it working beside so many great colleagues who I am going to miss so much,” she told British media.
Barker was, until last year, the host of the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport, and for a long time one of the leading presenters of Sports Personality of the Year.
On air, McEnroe voiced a tribute on behalf of the players to thank her “for covering this tournament magnificently for 30 years”. “We are going to be lost without you,” he said. The line-up of former champions and the Centre Court crowd clearly agreed and gave the 66-year-old former world No.3 and Roland-Garros champion a long standing ovation.
