Calling the Shots
My Autobiography
Published on 29. September 2022
336 pages
978-1-4735-9961-1 (ISBN)
Description
The instant Sunday Times bestseller
Shortlisted for the Autobiography of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards
'A life of two wonderfully entertaining halves' Sunday Times
Rewind to 1971, and Sue Barker's coach is sending his 15-year-old tennis protegee to a junior championship in France, alone, with a one-way ticket, telling her she'll have to win the money to pay for her return fare. Sue hides in the grounds of the hosting tennis club overnight, to avoid paying for a hotel. The next day, she walks onto court and smashes it. Five years later, and she's Britain's No 1.
The same combination of grit, grace and talent took her to the top of live Sports TV. And now, after four decades on camera encouraging other legends to share their stories, she is telling her own.
Going all in for her once-only autobiography, Sue takes us inside the showbizzy world of 70s and early 80s tennis. She reveals the battles she fought for hard-won success in two careers and gives us a ringside seat on the nation's biggest sporting dramas, and a fascinating insider's understanding of competitors under pressure.
This is the remarkable life story of a tennis champion, an award-winning broadcaster who has brought sporting history into our living rooms for decades, and a trail-blazing woman who has always called the shots.
Shortlisted for the Autobiography of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards
'A life of two wonderfully entertaining halves' Sunday Times
Rewind to 1971, and Sue Barker's coach is sending his 15-year-old tennis protegee to a junior championship in France, alone, with a one-way ticket, telling her she'll have to win the money to pay for her return fare. Sue hides in the grounds of the hosting tennis club overnight, to avoid paying for a hotel. The next day, she walks onto court and smashes it. Five years later, and she's Britain's No 1.
The same combination of grit, grace and talent took her to the top of live Sports TV. And now, after four decades on camera encouraging other legends to share their stories, she is telling her own.
Going all in for her once-only autobiography, Sue takes us inside the showbizzy world of 70s and early 80s tennis. She reveals the battles she fought for hard-won success in two careers and gives us a ringside seat on the nation's biggest sporting dramas, and a fascinating insider's understanding of competitors under pressure.
This is the remarkable life story of a tennis champion, an award-winning broadcaster who has brought sporting history into our living rooms for decades, and a trail-blazing woman who has always called the shots.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Ebury Publishing
File size
12,78 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4735-9961-1 (9781473599611)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2023
Ebury Spotlight
€16.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Sue Barker CBE is an award-winning broadcaster and former professional tennis player. During her tennis career she won fifteen WTA singles titles, including a Grand Slam - the French Open in 1976, aged 20. At her career height she was Britain's No 1 player, with a world ranking of No 3.
As a broadcaster, in 2001 she became the first woman to win the Royal Television Society's best sports presenter award. She led the BBC's reporting on the Olympics for over a decade, including London 2012. She anchored SPOTY for 19 years, was quizmaster on A Question of Sport for 24 years and fronted coverage of Wimbledon for three decades.
In 2020, she won The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.
Wimbledon: A personal history is her second Sunday Times bestselling book, following her autobiography, Calling the Shots, published in 2022. Sue lives in the Cotswolds with her husband Lance.
As a broadcaster, in 2001 she became the first woman to win the Royal Television Society's best sports presenter award. She led the BBC's reporting on the Olympics for over a decade, including London 2012. She anchored SPOTY for 19 years, was quizmaster on A Question of Sport for 24 years and fronted coverage of Wimbledon for three decades.
In 2020, she won The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.
Wimbledon: A personal history is her second Sunday Times bestselling book, following her autobiography, Calling the Shots, published in 2022. Sue lives in the Cotswolds with her husband Lance.
