Claire Balding: I want Sue Barker to be proud of the new face of Wimbledon

Claire Balding has taken over from Sue Barker as head of BBC Wimbledon coverage. Credit: BBC Pictures/Helen Murray

Claire Balding spoke for the first time about her new role as host of the BBC's Wimbledon programme, saying she wants Sue Barker to be proud of her.

Balding, 52, was part of Wimbledon broadcast team since 1995. Her first appearance came just two years after she ended her career as one of the nation's leading amateur jockeys.

Three and a half months ago, she was confirmed as a replacement for Barker, who retired at the end of Wimbledon last summer at age 66. The BBC presentation team.

“It is a great honor,” said Balding in an interview broadcast by the BBC London Live news bulletin. «Sue is a good friend of mine, she was very supportive, and I will try to make her proud of me without trying to repeat what she did.»

Barker contributed to BBC reporting for 30 years, succeeding Des Lynam as main presenter in 2000. Only two previous presenters have held the role, namely David Coleman and Harry Carpenter.

Last June, Barker turned down an offer to renew his contract with the BBC. At the time, she clarified that «I just feel like the time has come.» She later went on to criticize the BBC in her autobiography Calling The Shots, but it had more to do with how they handled her departure from A Question of Sport than with their coverage of Wimbledon.

Casa Alom, Claire Balding and Isa Guha will be part of the revitalized BBC team at Wimbledon. Photo: BBC Pictures/Helen Murray

«I'm very excited about this,» Balding said. “Of course I will be nervous, of course I will. This is a big deal. It's one of the top sporting events in the world.»

In the same interview, Balding also suggested that the Wimbledon courts could experience the same kind of regime change as the comment box.

«What I'm really looking forward to this year and over the next five or six years is to see who will be the top stars of the next decade,» she said. “We have reached the end of Roger Federer here and we are nearing the end of Novak Djokovic who is still reigning supreme, but what next?

“What will happen to Stefanos Tsitsipas or Felix Auger-Aliassime or Carlos Alcaraz? Can Ons Jaber win? Will they be able to lift the trophy? Can they win the championship here at Wimbledon?»