SUE BARKER broke a golden rule at Wimbledon.
And she was caught out by a music icon.
Barker, 69, is a legend at the All England Club, competing in 12 Wimbledon Championships as a player.
The former French Open winner then spent three decades hosting the BBC’s broadcast coverage of the iconic tournament.
But there was one incident that saw her breach the strict All England Club protocol.
Barker revealed in her book Wimbledon, A Personal History that she made the blunder during the opening ceremony of the Centre Court retractable roof in 2009.
The former BBC anchor conducted proceedings – with some of tennis’ greats in attendance.
But she was called out by Katherine Jenkins for her faux pas.
Welsh singer Jenkins stunned the crowd with an emotional rendition of Amazing Grace as the roof moved across and then followed it up by singing Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It for You.
Then she called Barker out for her mistake – after spotting the former British No1 wearing heels on Wimbledon’s hallowed Centre Court turf.
Jenkins approached Barker and said: “But I was told I couldn’t wear heels.”
Barker wrote in her memoir: “She was wearing a pink lace strapless dress and lovely sparkly little flip-flops.
“So the first part of our interview was me trying to pretend that I wasn’t really in heels.
“You know, because obviously the rules are that you’re not allowed to wear heels on the Centre Court grass. It was hugely embarrassing.”
Incredibly, a decade-and-a-half later, Jenkins reminded Barker of her blunder – in front of tennis great Billie Jean King.
Barker added: “Without so much as a hello, Katherine pointed me out to her husband like she was identifying a criminal in a police line-up.
“She blurted out, ‘SHE broke the rules on Centre Court.’
“That was 2009 – nearly 15 years ago – and her first association on seeing me again was to recall my illegal high heels.
“But we had a lovely chat, another really special time just relaxing with someone rather than the fleeting catch-ups I had when I was relentlessly working.”
Barker hung up her microphone and retired from the BBC hosting gig in emotional scenes in 2022.
She returned in 2024 for Andy Murray’s farewell ceremony.
And then for this year’s Championships, Barker fronted an advert for Emirates as she checked the height of the nets, the length of the grass, the colour of the flowers, the cleanliness of the staircase and the bounce of the balls on the courts – before finishing off the clip with a spot of afternoon tea at the All England Club.
The former Question of Sport host has largely remained out of the public eye since her BBC departure.
And that meant she turned down the chance to front Sky Sports’ tennis coverage of the ATP and WTA Tours.
Read the full article here
