Sam Smith

Samantha Smith is a former professional tennis player. Her pro career spanned two periods from 1990-1992 and 1995-2000. During her first spell on tour as a teenager, she represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup and at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. After two seasons in the pro ranks she took a brief hiatus from tennis and gained a BA in History at the University of Exeter (1992-95). On her return to the WTA Tour, she defeated a former Wimbledon champion, Conchita Martinez on route to the last 16 at the 1998 Wimbledon Championships.

In February 1999 reached her highest world ranking of 55. From 1997 to 2000, she was the British number 1, won a National Championships and was a member of the GB Fed Cup Team In 2001, after retiring from tennis, she turned down an offer to study a Masters in International Relations at the University of Cambridge and instead chose to follow a path into broadcast media. For more than two decades she has worked predominantly as a tennis commentator for multiple networks/channels across both radio and television.

The highlight of her media career occurred during the 2019 Wimbledon Championships when she became the first female broadcaster to lead The Ladies Singles Final for the BBC. During October 2019, Sam was assessed by a clinical psychologist with a specialism in neurodevelopmental differences and diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) She has been open about her condition in her professional life since November 2023.