sports
‘She could beat anyone’: 50 years on from Sue Barker’s French Open triumph
She thought the 1976 Roland Garros women’s singles title was the first of many; half a century later no British man or woman has repeated the feat
TL;DR
- Sue Barker won her only Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 1976, beating Renata Tomanova.
- This year marks the 50th anniversary of her victory, and no British player has triumphed in Paris since.
- The 1976 final was not shown live on television due to a strike by French camera technicians.
- Barker's career was cut short by injury in 1984, despite reaching a peak ranking of No. 3.
- An error on the French Open trophy listed Barker as Australian, though she stated she was not bothered by it.
- Jo Durie and Virginia Ruzici, a fellow Grand Slam champion, commented on Barker's playing ability and career.