Book info

• Title Calling the Shots
• Author Sue Barker
• Year 2022
• Genre Memoir

Rewind to 1971, and Sue Barker's coach is sending his 15-year-old tennis protégée 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.

Thoughts

Sue Barker is notoriously private so it’s great to hear from the horse’s mouth. I didn’t know much of her history, even knowing she was a tennis player, I hadn’t realised she’d won a grand slam. This follows her early tennis life, her journey to become the ultimate sports broadcaster, the real truth behind being badly treated by the BBC, and some thoughts on her private life and press intrusions. A lovely read.

Rating: 4 / 5