Andy Murray pays tribute to motherly Sue Barker ahead of her final Wimbledon

James Richardson
June 25, 2022

Former World No 1 Andy Murray and legendary broadcaster Sue Barker have shared significant moments in tennis history and the Scot has paid glowing tribute to the retiring voice of Wimbledon.

Barker conducted an emotional on-court interview with Murray after his 2012 Wimbledon final loss and shared another memorable exchange the following year when he made history as the first British man to the tournament in the open era.

Murray sees Barker as a kind of second mum, revealing that they have shared numerous private conversations alongside those on Centre Court.

He said that she had a remarkable ability to put him at ease and being interviewed by Barker was always a pleasure.

“Away from the camera, I always loved chatting to Sue,” Murray said. “It was like chatting to my mum, or a relative almost. She has that warmth to her.

“Usually you do interviews on the TV and it doesn’t always feel the most natural to me. But with her, a lot of the time I almost felt like she was able to make you forget about that.

“When I would go to the studio at Wimbledon, she made it feel more relaxed. It was like you’re chatting to someone in the living room or whatever. That was what I really loved about her. She also seems like a genuinely nice person.”

Murray insists that it is a credit to the work she has done as a broadcaster that people forget Barker’s stellar tennis career.

“I’ve watched her on the TV growing up, whether that was Wimbledon or a Question of Sport,” Murray added.

“She was obviously an amazing tennis player but a lot of people maybe don’t realise that about her because she has become so good at what she does now.”

Barker will take her place as presenter of the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon for the final time from 10:30 (BST) on Monday.

Former England cricketer Isa Guha will share presenting duties with Barker and looks likely to step in for the iconic former French Open winner.

In the UK, you can catch live coverage of Wimbledon on BBC One, BBC Two, the Red Button, and iPlayer.

Andy Murray Sue Barker