Sue Barker 'approached by BBC rival' after sharing Wimbledon regret

Sue Barker reportedly claimed that she was approached by a rival broadcaster to front their tennis coverage after her BBC exit. The former French Open winner presented the British Grand Slam for nearly three decades, before leaving coverage in the capable hands of Clare Balding and Isa Guha in 2022.

The legendary host, 69, did return to the All England Club in a new role to inspect every area of the venue and make sure it was up to standard before the tournament. But she could have been fronting a different TV channel had their proposal been accepted.

CityAM claim that while at an event in west London, Barker was asked whether she would ever present Wimbledon for a rival broadcaster such as TNT Sports - who are showing this year's men's and women's finals as are the BBC.

She rebuffed that idea and said that the Beeb is the pinnacle of sports broadcasting, namely calling the games on Centre Court.

But Barker then confirmed that she had received an early approach from Sky Sports after they took over from Amazon Prime as a major rights holder on the ATP and WTA tours, but she turned down the idea.

The understanding is that there was no formal offer made to Barker, as Sky sounded out their options last year on their return to tennis.

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Barker had previously expressed regret over her BBC departure, admitting that she did not want to leave the broadcaster.

When asked by the Mirror if she would ever return to host Wimbledon for the Beeb, she replied: "Yes, I would. I loved it. I loved the people and I didn't want to leave.

"But you start hearing rumours of what is happening and [the BBC] obviously wants the next generation, and when you start hearing those rumours you think, 'Maybe it's time to get out while they still want me rather than being shoved out of the back door'."

Barker was also peeved over her departure from Question of Sport after 24 years, telling BBC Breakfast she was being replaced as part of a "refresh" as opposed to her own volition.

She explained: "It is such a shame because, I have to say, that the BBC had told us we were going. They wanted to refresh the programme and that is absolutely fine. Everyone has the right to do that. We don't own the programme.

"I had had 24 amazing years working with the most incredible people. So we knew it was going to happen and it was just the way in which it happened and the way it was handled - and the way the BBC sort of wanted me to say that I was walking away from it.

"And yet, I would never walk away from a job I love. I don't mind being replaced. Absolutely fine. That happens ... I think if we look back on it we could have handled it better. I think the BBC could have handled it better."