It must rank as John McEnroe’s most heartfelt “You cannot be serious” moment. During his first live appearance alongside Sue Barker to preview the opening of 2022 proceedings on Centre Court, McEnroe expressed incredulity at the news that this was to be her last year as lead presenter for the BBC Wimbledon coverage. 

McEnroe joked that they would also need to leave the broadcast. "We all agreed we would only go as long as you can," he said. "What is going to happen next? Henman, are we going to have a tournament next year?" 

On air, McEnroe has since tried to cajole Sue to do another year and, at the end of the Centre Court Centenary parade they co-hosted, he 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, affectionate standing ovation. 

It was a grand reversing of tables. As she had seen so many players do before her on Centre Court, it was Barker’s turn to acknowledge the applause and be moved to tears.

As she walks out on to Centre Court to conduct the post-final interviews with the new men’s singles champion and runner-up today, it is almost inconceivable to think that this will be the last time she performs the role that’s taken so many players to the hearts of fans. 

A broadcaster with an insider’s empathy, she is the consummate pro in encouraging others to share their feelings. Remember Pete Sampras’s surprisingly emotional climb up to his parents in the players’ box? Or Simona Halep’s joy not just at winning but in therefore becoming an honorary member of the All England Club?  

Or the croaky-voiced gracious consolation speech that earned Andy Murray a hero’s ovation in 2012? Roll on a year, an Olympic gold medal won on Centre Court, a US Open title, a revealing behind-the-scenes documentary and Andy was back being congratulated by Barker on being the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.  

It’s the moment she nominates as the highlight of her TV career.

And what a career she’s had as one of very few former athletes who have gone on to present multi-sports programmes on a high-profile channel such as the BBC.

But after 30 years as the presenter of the Beeb's Wimbledon coverage, she will hang up her microphone, take her telegenic jacket off the hook marked HRWH (Her Royal Wimbledon Highness) in the studio and look forward to coming back to The Championships simply to sit back and enjoy the tennis. 

Her retirement marks an end of an era, which will be sharply felt. An entire generation and more have only known Wimbledon through Sue Barker’s warm and welcoming company. 

She has brought the Fortnight uniquely to life with her knowledgeable chat with friends and peers she’s invited on as panel guests (Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Billie Jean King, Tracy Austin, etc).

From her eyrie in the Broadcast Centre at Wimbledon, she has been on hand to witness Championship tennis at its most emotional: Sampras’s retirement, Goran Ivanisevic’s last-gasp 2001 victory, the dominance of Federer and his rivalry with Nadal and Djokovic. 

In the women’s game, she announced the retirement of Steffi Graf, empathised with Jana Novotna’s emotional win (having previously lost from a winning position) and marvelled at the Williams sisters’ superiority.

What makes “Auntie Sue” - as Tim Henman calls her - such a special presenter? A deep knowledge of the game, for sure, laced with scrupulous research and a perfectionist’s approach that underpins her natural manner. Long before the WTA and ATP introduced their audio player introductions, Sue was famous for her correct pronunciation of players' names from all over the globe. 

But it’s also the fact that her association with Wimbledon has lasted for more than 50 years (longer if you count the years of hitting against her garage wall in south Devon dreaming of beating Billie Jean on Centre Court). The place is a home from home.  

She describes the thrill of walking through the AELTC wrought-iron gates today as the same as when she first walked in as a 13-year-old having earnt the right to play there for her Marist Convent team in the national schools competition. 

Remarkably, the first player she introduced in Middle Sunday’s Centre Court Centenary parade was Angela Mortimer, the 1961 Wimbledon champion with whom she shared (in different decades) the same influential coach, Arthur Roberts. 

She went on to reach the semi final here in 1977 and was a top three player in that golden era when peers Evert and Navratilova, Borg and McEnroe had made the sport a box-office attraction. 

She'll be back to watch the tournament she is so assocated with, but she leaves her broadcaster's chair with a tranche of memories - which she will relive in a forthcoming memoir, Calling the Shots, to be published in September.

So from the generation of tennis fans she’s kept informed and entertained with her inimitable warmth and humour, we'd like to say, thanks Sue, thanks. Wimbledon won't be quite the same without you. 

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