Sue Barker Net Worth: Retirement, Titles & Private Life

Sue Barker is a former television presenter and professional tennis player.

Formerly the face of A Question Of Sport, Barker began working with the BBC in 1993 after a decorated career on the court, which included 15 WTA singles titles.

Long after departing the tennis betting scene, Barker has remained at the forefront of the sport’s coverage, becoming a beloved television personality and broadcaster.

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Graduating to the status of national treasure, Barker’s retirement in 2022 prompted emotional scenes at the All England Club and brought waves of praise from across the sporting world. Read below to learn a bit more about Barker, starting with her net worth. 

Net Worth

Estimations of Sue Barker net worth cover a massive range. Some are below £2 million, while others get into the tens of millions.

There is limited information about Barker’s financial status in recent years, but she earned just over three-quarters of a million pounds in prize money during her playing career.

Of course, this will have been supplemented by a healthy BBC salary over the last three decades.

Barker has been one of the faces of sport on the national broadcasting channel, becoming synonymous with Wimbledon (one of the BBC’s biggest annual events). 

Husband

Sue Barker is married to Lance Tankard, and the couple reside in Gloucestershire. A star on the court, Barker’s relationship status attracted a lot of interest through the 1970s and 1980s. 

Prior to her marriage to Tankard, Barker had relationships with Cliff Richard, Syd Ball, Stephen Shaw and Greg Norman.

Speaking years after their split, Richard said he ‘seriously contemplated’ proposing to Barker, but they ultimately went their separate ways. 

Barker and Tankard had initially met in Portugal, and the relationship developed after a chance encounter while they were both out for dinner in the UK. 

Retirement

Sue Barker announced her retirement from Wimbledon coverage in 2022 after rejecting a three-year contract extension offer from the BBC.

Barker has been an ever-present at the event, educating new fans on Tennis terms and interviewing some of the greatest tennis players of all time. 

Speaking in an interview about the decision, Barker cited the passing of her mother as an important factor.

She said, "My mum was always so interested in my broadcasting career, and we would speak every evening. When something like that happens it does make you reassess life, which is another reason I think this is the right time.

"Basically I just feel the time is right. It has been my dream job and I have loved every minute of it working so many great colleagues who I am going to miss so much.

"When I started I never thought I would manage 30 years. I had actually made up my mind to leave in 2017 because the hours were becoming very long and quite challenging.

"That would have been 25 years and seemed a good time, but I am so glad I made the decision to stay on. I’m very happy to be leaving with no regrets and on my own terms while I am still on top of the job, it just feels like the right time to go and leave it to others."

Naturally, it was an emotional goodbye for Barker on Centre Court. John McEnroe introduced a touching montage, featuring tributes from Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Chris Evert among many others.

Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, said, “You’ve been amazing for our sport. I’ve grown up watching you on the TV, and then obviously I’ve been interviewed by you many times.

"I’ve loved watching you on Question of Sport as well. You’re going to be sadly missed by everyone who loves and watches tennis in this country.”

With the crowd chanting ‘we love you Sue, we do’, Barker said a final goodbye as she wiped away the tears.

"It’s been an absolutely privilege, I’ve loved it, 30 amazing years, thank you. I’ll miss the job, I wish I had the next 30 years to do it. I love it.

"Most of all I’m going to miss the people I work with, in front of the camera, behind the camera, you have been absolutely amazing. I’ve been so proud to front the programme."

Calling The Shots

Following her retirement, Sue Barker is releasing an autobiography, entitled ‘Calling The Shots’ in September 2022.

This isn’t an insight into the latest tennis predictions, but rather a story of Barker’s journey from a schoolgirl in Paignton to a Grand Slam champion and face of Wimbledon coverage. 

Barker is also taking part in a nationwide tour under the same name to promote the book. Event tickets are priced at just £20 and include a signed copy of the autobiography.

French Open Title

Barker won the French Open in 1976 – no other British woman has reached the final at Roland Garros since then. This was the clear highlight of Barker’s playing days, and turned out to be the only Grand Slam final appearance of her career. 

Only reaching the last eight at a Grand Slam four more times after her triumph in France, Barker also won just one more singles match at the French Open. 

It was an entertaining final against Renáta Tomanová, with Barker winning the first and third sets 6-2 either side of a 0-6 loss.

Sue Barker Titles

  • Surbiton, 1974

  • Bastad, 1974

  • Bastad, 1975

  • Kitzbuhel, 1975

  • Adelaide, 1975

  • Auckland, 1975

  • Hamburg, 1976

  • French Open, 1976

  • San Francisco, 1977

  • Dallas, 1977

  • Brisbane, 1978

  • Manchester, 1979

  • Pittsburgh, 1979

  • Sydney, 1979

  • Brighton, 1981

 

 

August 30, 2022
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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

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Fabrizio Romano on Antony: Erik Ten Hag Finally Gets His Man

One of the toughest negotiations of the summer has finally been completed. Antony is a Manchester United player.

It was a complicated week in direct discussions between Ajax and Manchester United, because the Dutch club for over 15 days did not even intend to sit at a table and negotiate for Antony.

Fabrizio Romano articles

A total closure that worried Manchester United to the point of having considered many alternatives, from Cody Gakpo to Marco Asensio who were part of the list but those have never really been close to Man United because Antony has always remained the priority of the board and of Erik ten Hag.

Yes, the Dutch manager who is more than just a manager for Antony; if the Brazilian star reached these levels he owes a lot to ten Hag, the manager who believed in him when he arrived from Sao Paulo and made him a €100m player, the highest paid player in the history of the Eredivisie.

Manchester United had included Antony in the list of top targets as early as the end of May, in the first meeting with Erik ten Hag who made his name as top player for present and future.

But there was no opportunity to negotiate with Ajax because the Dutch club and in particular the new manager Alfred Schreuder wanted to keep him at all costs.

Man United had planned a €55m proposal which was not even considered feasible by Ajax.

After months of discussions, Manchester United have had to wait until late August as part of a strategy that has seen Antony as the main target over other candidates for a long time.

Antony Man United


At the beginning of August, a total agreement on personal terms was reached: Antony gave the green light together with his agents for a contract valid until 30 June 2027 with an option for further season, his choice was made with priority to Man United despite phone calls from another Premier League club that tried to explore the situation without success.

But the last 10 days of August were very difficult for the negotiations with Ajax.

Manchester United made an official €80m proposal earlier this month, turned down by Ajax without even being open to negotiations on add-ons structure, payment terms or details that would get you closer to Antony's signing.

"No way", the response of the Dutch club who wanted to support the manager until the end. But since then the player has been a key factor in the deal; Antony started to stop training with Ajax first team, a strong message arrived two days before the match against Sparta Rotterdam as Antony decided not to travel with the team to Rotterdam and await updates for his situation on the market.

In fact, the player claims to have already warned Ajax from last February through his agents: no intention of proceeding for another season in Amsterdam, the two-year project is over and the idea of leaving Ajax with great respect to try a new experience in the Premier League, his dream since he was a child.

For a whole week, Antony never showed up in training with the first team but he always worked alone or in the gym, a strong strategy that he did not want to follow but which he chose because it was the only way to convince Ajax to negotiate with Manchester United.

The English club waited for him until the end despite a new €90m proposal turned down 10 days ago - without changing the target but with the desire to satisfy Erik ten Hag on one of the priority signings of the summer for the Man United project.

Then last Friday, Antony broke the silence and he told me: "I want to leave, I thank Ajax but I ask them to free me to follow my dreams", an exclusive interview in which I had the opportunity to understand the player's feeling.

Manchester United only - no other options for present and future.

This is why Ajax - in particular Edwin van der Sar, still in excellent relations with Man United - have decided to negotiate on Sunday up to a total agreement of €95m guaranteed fee, € 5m easy add-ons and also the payment of the percentage of solidarity to Sao Paulo by the Red Devils.

An impressive deal with huge amounts, an important contract for the Brazilian star but also a completely different feeling around Man United after signing Casemiro, Antony and winning the last two games with Erik ten Hag finally in full control of the situation.

Antony had medical tests on Monday night, signed and became one of the most expensive players in the history of Man United. Good luck, the Premier League is waiting for him!

 

August 30, 2022
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Fabrizio Romano is an Italian sports journalist. He was born in 1993, he lives in Milan and has over 30 million followers in total on the major social networks.

 

He collaborates with 888sport, CBS Sports, Sky Sport, The Guardian and has been a transfer market expert since 2011. He will take care of a column dedicated to some "Behind the Scenes" of transfers.

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