Sue Barker

“Billie-Jean King used to take me out on court and say that she just wanted to watch my forehand. You can't get greater praise than that.”

“I'd grown up with Wimbledon, and so to play on Centre Court really was a dream come true.”

“You want to do it on your own terms - not to be forced out because your body breaks down. I had to quit because of injury and I was crying for weeks. I used to wake up in the morning and think 'what am I getting up for now?'”

“For me, I still wish every day that I could play tennis again. It's such an incredible, wonderful job to have.”

“I'd earned enough money, I had a flat in Wimbledon, I did some corporate things, but I was really unhappy. After being challenged all my life, suddenly there were no challenges any more.”

“I suppose it must be true that if you have a bad practice, you'll probably have a good match!”

“I work on 'A Question of Sport' which comes out of Manchester and you see how it's important to take parts of the BBC to other parts of the nation.”

“Wimbledon is a special place for me in so many ways and I feel privileged to have been such a big part of it over the years.”

“The majority of people don't even realise I was a tennis player. The older you get, the less people remember what you did before.”

“It has been an honour to present BBC 'Sports Personality Of The Year' for the last 19 years and I have loved every minute of it. The BBC have asked me to stay but I had made the decision to downsize my commitments a while ago, and I knew that the time would be right after what was always set to be a magical 2012.”

“It doesn't worry me how I'm remembered.”

“When I was playing, all my overseas trips were paid for by the LTA, then by my coach, and from whatever prize-money I made I would have to pay back as much as I could of the fare. Only once that was paid could I keep the extra, and that was a powerful incentive.”

“I know what it is to win and to lose, and the last thing you want when you've lost is to have a microphone stuck under your nose.”

“Everyone loves sport. And everyone loves a quiz.”

“Mary Peters. When I was having my sulky, stroppy, bad loser phase I watched her at the Olympics. Sometimes she failed but always with a smile and good grace. She taught me how to win and lose, and I have a photo taken with her in my lounge.”

“When I became a presenter, Bob Wilson was the only other ex-sportsman doing it.”

“The more publicity the better.”

“But you are always remembered for how many Slams you win, not weeks at No. 1.”

“For a long time I was terrified of dogs, but now I get so much pleasure from them.”

“I wouldn't have wanted to be in any other era. Chrissie Evert, Martina Navratilova, Virginia Wade, Evonne Goolagong and Margaret Court were fabulous people, and I made great friends along the way.”