Calling the Shots: My Autobiography

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In 1982, Barker met singer Cliff Richard. Their four-month-long [33] romance attracted considerable media attention after Richard flew to Denmark to watch her play in a tennis match and they were photographed cuddling and holding hands at Wimbledon. [36] [37] In 1988, Richard said of his former romance with Barker: "We were closer than just friends. She's the only person with whom I've had that sort of relationship." He said that one of the things which made up his mind not to marry her was when she got upset because he hadn't told her who he was seeing that day. Richard said: "I suddenly realised that in a marriage you don't live for yourself." [38] Richard said in 2008 that he had come close to asking her to marry him. He said: "I seriously contemplated asking her to marry me, but in the end I realised that I didn't love her quite enough to commit the rest of my life to her." [39]

Federer, the 20-time grand slam champion, said Barker had made him cry “maybe not only once but several times”. “Thank you for those incredible 30 years and everything you’ve done for the game of tennis,” he added. If someone had told me that my relationship with Cliff would last a few months but I’d still be hearing about it 40 years later, I wouldn’t have gone near him. Frankly, it looks silly now that he’s still talking about a relationship that was never really more than a friendship.

Actually I have to get that comment right, Sue's two careers, a tennis career, and a television career. How you see Sue on the television is the real Sue, and admire so much when she says "You see enough of me on television, you won't see me showing my house off in the Hello Magazine. Lance and I still see him now and again. We went to his 50th birthday party, and joined his 60th birthday cruise. We also went to support him at the Royal Albert Hall after that horrible BBC/police raid. There’s no animosity there. Then came the call from Cliff. It turned out he’d been watching the Brighton tournament from home and had been surprised to see me celebrate so warmly with Hank and Brian. Twenty years on, I’d still be reading comments from him such as, ‘I didn’t love her quite enough to marry her,’ and I’d think: ‘He can’t be talking about me, surely? It never got to that level.’

Barker started working for the BBC as a tennis presenter in 1993, and the following year began to present coverage of the Wimbledon tennis championships; she stepped down from this role after the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. [3] Barker is a former presenter of A Question of Sport. I was soon receiving treatment on my hamstring but feeling depressed, injured, really down, and kept calling Cliff for a chat. He was, I thought, my boyfriend. My parents, however, were wary. They didn’t like the age difference of 16 years — I was 25, Cliff was 41 — and Dad warned me it could become a problem as we got older.

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Who's moving homes; Sue Barker". London Evening Standard. 27 February 2008 . Retrieved 25 May 2017. This is a very cosy but enjoyable read, there are no startling revelations, gossip or anything that will cause bad feelings. What you do get reading this book is the warmth of a tennis player and television celebrity who is close to her family and made lots of true friends throughout her life, many of who are household names. I found this to be a relaxing read that entertained without making my mouth drop open. While staying in Dallas, Texas, I watched Morecambe and Wise on TV with an American friend, Carole. Cliff was on as a guest. ‘He’s too old for you!’ was Carole’s view. ‘Ah, but he’s ever so nice,’ I replied. Later in 1976, Barker had the biggest victory of her career by winning the French Open at the age of 20, again defeating Tomanová in the final. [6] After her French Open victory against Tomanová, Barker felt that it would be the first of a number of Grand Slam titles that she would win, but she would not reach another Grand Slam final in her career. [6]

Henderson, Jon (8 July 2007). "Tennis: Say it's not so Sue". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 29 December 2012. As Des said: ‘Who needs tennis — the man is an absolute star . . . the only thing that worries me is that Cliff doesn’t know it’s on television and we might get one hell of a bill!’

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But I have to say being in Cliff’s company was a lot of fun. He got on well with my family and friends. They were all impressed by his behaviour with fans — he never flinched when he was approached in public, and was always happy to do a personalised autograph.