I spent my career battling Andy Murray to be British No1, but I retired for a totally different career away from tennis

2 months ago 24

HE turned professional in 2004 but only competed for nine years before officially hanging up his racket in 2013, aged just 26.

But the Glasgow-born star still enjoyed a successful career, and was once British No.2, with just Andy Murray ahead of him in 2008.

The Glasgow-born player had a completely different career after retiring[/caption]

He is close friends with Andy Murray[/caption]

He grew up playing alongside the Scottish tennis legend and his brother Jamie in UK junior events, and was even given some valuable advice from their mother Judy when he was a teenager.

That was to leave his family home and move to the LTA Tennis Academy in Loughborough, which he did when his dad relocated his company’s office to the English town so the youngster wouldn’t be alone down south.

He spent his career battling with Murray for the British No.1 spot but he could never dethrone the Dunblane-born icon.

Now 37, he embarked on a completely new career away from tennis when he announced his retirement from the sport.

Jamie Baker, who won over £300,000 in prize money during his years as a tennis player, dived into a new career as a banker when he hung up his racket.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he received a professional banker diploma in 2014 before taking a Institute of Directors course in 2016.

But Baker started working with Santander in 2013 as a Relationship Manager, before working his way up as an Associate Director and Head of Local Authorities before leaving the company after four years in 2017.

But while he stepped away from tennis as a player in 2014, he never could walk away from the sport.

He worked as a pundit for the BBC and Eurosport part-time on the side, while also volunteering for the Lawn Tennis Association and Bright Ideas for Tennis.

After leaving his last role at Santander, Baker was then appointed Head of Tennis Relations at Wimbledon and held that position for two years before being promoted to Head of Professional Tennis and Tournament Director in 2020.

It’s the job he still had to this day and he is now never away from the home of tennis, a court he never managed to emulate his friend and rival Murray in during his career, having never progressed further than the first round.

Despite being Britain‘s No.2, Barker’s highest ever ranking was 186th and that was in 2012.

He represented Great Britain at the Davis Cup on several occasions and won 12 Futures singles titles, and one Challenger and four Futures titles in doubles.

He was even once invited by former world No.1 Pete Sampras to train at his home in 2007.

Barker isn’t the only sportsman in his family as his brother Steven played Squash internationally for Scotland.