I am a huge tennis fan and it was in the days of Sue Barker, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert that I first got hooked. This biography is well written, informative and enjoyable. I loved that Sue put the record straight about her relationship with Cliff. Her warm, cheerful voice comes over just as she appears as a well known tv presenter..

Insightful and interesting… Tens of millions of people have watched and loved Sue on the BBC for decades - she has guided us through defining national moments such as Andy Murray's 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon wins (17 million viewers); A Question of Sport was also at its most popular when presented by her (19 million viewers) recommend you pick it up for yourself.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.
This autobiography proves there is more, much more to Sue Barker than just tennis. Give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

I’d recommend this book for any sports fan, especially tennis or Sue Barker. It was interesting and eye opening at times!!

For anyone who is a fan of tennis star Sue or just loved her on a question of sport this is the book for you. Find out how a love for tennis and a determination to succeed made her soar not just in tennis but also on our tv screens.

I am not a big tennis fan and haven’t watched “Question of Sport” for decades but I really enjoyed Sue Barker’s biography.

She gives a detailed glimpse into her two careers as a top tennis player and exceptional broadcaster. She is modest and self effacing and her enjoyment of life shines through.

I particularly enjoyed the chapters about making her way in the sport.

I would recommend this book to all readers.

I am so glad that I was given a copy of this book to read and review. I loved it, I am a similar age to Sue Barker and loved both watching and playing tennis from my early teens, so this is my era. I loved the trip down memory lane, and it was really well written, and gave a great insight both into the tennis world, and the world of television. I was sorry to see Sue bow out this year at Wimbledon and am hoping that she may pop up on some tv programmes, as a guest, well one can hope, but I wish her a happy retirement, and I loved reading this book.

Sue Barker’s autobiography is a real revelation to me, full of tennis facts and information about her tennis peers. I love tennis; in fact I play three times a week at our local tennis club.
Sue was born on April 19th 1956 and she started her tennis career as a ten-year-old pupil at her Convert school in Paignton. Here she was picked out by a tennis coach called Arthur Roberts, one of two girls he took on to coach that year and he stayed her trusted coach throughout her entire career. At age fifteen Arthur sent his protégée to France all alone, telling her she had better win so that she could buy a return ticket back home. Luckily she won the junior championship there, but she hid herself away the night before because she had no money to pay for a room in the hotel.
Now on the WAT tour (Women's Tennis Association) and with some great wins behind her, Sue is back in France playing at Roland Garros, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments most revered in the world. It is May 1976 and Sue plays her heart out, going through the tournament full of determination, concentration, and elegance. She played well through each match, swinging her hugely admired dangerous weapon, her famous forehand and it is there she won the ladies final Championship with a score sheet of 62-06-62.
Sue was the British number one lady player and the world number three at her very best. Sadly she was forced to retire in 1984 because of injury. It is then that her second career started and she became a sports commentator, not only for tennis but other sports too: Royal Ascot, Olympics, London Marathon, Commonwealth Games, World Athletics Championships, Winter Olympics Championships, BBC Sports Personality of the year and many more. Her love of Tennis saw her commentate at Wimbledon for 30 years, having only retired Wimbledon duties this year, 2022. She will be sorely missed.
There is so much more in this true story than I have written about in Sue Barker’s autobiography. It is beautifully written and there is a whole wealth of interesting facts for you to discover. It’s not all about her own experiences on the tennis court; there are the other wonderful players she knows so well, her private life, her worldwide travelling and lots of other TV personalities that she calls good mates. I didn’t know even the half of it. There is laughter, disappointments, love and grief. This covers 66 years of Sue’s life, family, friendships, major worldwide events and more.
I enjoyed this autobiography and feel really honoured to review it through my membership of NetGalley. I would like to thank Ebury Digital for granting my requests to read ‘Calling the Shots’, sent to me in return for an honest review.

I am not a big Tennis fan but did enjoy watching Wimbledon back in the days of Borg, McEnroe and Connors. Sue Barker was also from that era where the circuit was littered with superstars with Billie Jean King, Chris Evett and Martina Navratilova. Sue Barker never managed to get to the dizzy heights of the before mentioned superstars but she was very competitive, won a grand slam and then went on to have a career in the media.

This is a very cosy but enjoyable read, there are no startling revelations, gossip or anything that will cause bad feelings. What you do get reading this book is the warmth of a tennis player and television celebrity who is close to her family and made lots of true friends throughout her life, many of who are household names. I found this to be a relaxing read that entertained without making my mouth drop open.

This is an interesting read of one of this countries favourite personalities that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected to.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Penguin Random House for supplying a copy of this biography in exchange for an honest review.