Roland Garros organisers red-faced over 43-year trophy error

An eagle-eyed photographer on Sunday spotted that 1976 champion Sue Barker is listed as Australian and not British on the list of champions whose names are engraved on the Suzanne Lenglen trophy.

An alert photographer found out the 1976 champion was wrongly engraved as an Australian in the Suzanne Lenglen trophy.

When Sue Barker won the French Open women's title in 1976 she became Britain's most recent champion in Paris — or did she?

An eagle-eyed photographer on Sunday spotted that Barker is listed as Australian and not British on the list of champions whose names are engraved on the Suzanne Lenglen trophy.

“Last time I checked, Sue Barker was British — are my eyes deceiving me? @rolandgarros #britishtennis #australiantennis #confused #trophy,” tweeted Ella Ling who snapped a photo of the cup which has classed Barker as 'AUST' rather than 'GBR' for the last 43 years.

Last time I checked, Sue Barker was British - are my eyes deceiving me? @rolandgarros#britishtennis#australiantennis#confused#trophypic.twitter.com/tJkLETCo21

— Ella Ling (@EllaLing23) June 8, 2019

 

“I mean seriously....how has no one noticed!”

Barker defeated Renata Tomanova in the 1976 final and now works as a well-respected TV sports presenter in the UK.

It was a bad spell for the trophy engraver in the late 70s, as the 1977 champion Mima Jausovec is also spelt wrong, as 'Jausevec'