Barry Cowan was born on 25 August 1974 in Southport, Merseyside (then Lancashire), England, to parents Peter and Claire, who introduced him to tennis at age six through Aughton Tennis Club.

He turned professional in 1991 and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 162. His signature career moment came at Wimbledon in 2001, where, as a wild card ranked 248th, he pushed world No. 1 Pete Sampras to a five-set second-round battle. He represented Great Britain at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and in Davis Cup competition, retiring from professional tennis in 2002.

Since retirement, Cowan has built an 18-year broadcasting career with Sky Sports Tennis as a commentator and pundit, covering major ATP events, Grand Slams, and Wimbledon, alongside Gigi Salmon, Karthi Gnanasegaram, and others. He has also worked for Amazon Prime Video, Eurosport, BT Sport, and the BBC.

He is married to Joanna Chaytor and the couple has two young children, and lives in Berkshire, England.