 Court in 2018 | |
| Country (sports) |  Australia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Perth, Australia |
| Born | (1942-07-16)16 July 1942 (age 82) Albury, Australia |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Turned pro | 1968 |
| Retired | 1977 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1979(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career titles | 192 (92 during theOpen Era) |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (1962) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1969,1970,1971,1973) |
| French Open | W (1962,1964,1969,1970,1973) |
| Wimbledon | W (1963,1965,1970) |
| US Open | W (1962,1965,1969,1970,1973) |
| Doubles | |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (1963) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973) |
| French Open | W (1964, 1965, 1966, 1973) |
| Wimbledon | W (1964, 1969) |
| US Open | W (1963, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1975) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (1973,1975) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career titles | 21 (7 during theopen era) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1963, 1964,1965, 1969) |
| French Open | W (1963, 1964,1965, 1969) |
| Wimbledon | W (1963,1965, 1966, 1968, 1975) |
| US Open | W (1961, 1962,1963, 1964,1965, 1969, 1970, 1972) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | W (1964,1965,1968,1971) |
Margaret CourtAC MBE (néeSmith; born 16 July 1942), also known asMargaret Smith Court, is an Australian formerworld number 1tennis player and aChristian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 women's singlesmajor titles and total of 64 major titles (including 19 major women's doubles and 21 major mixed doubles titles) are the most in tennis history.
Court was born inAlbury, New South Wales. In 1960, aged 17, she won the first of seven consecutiveAustralian Open singles titles. She completed thecareer Grand Slam in singles aged 21 with her victory atWimbledon in 1963. Taking a brief hiatus in 1966 and 1967, Court played as an amateur until the advent of theOpen Era in 1968. She completed theGrand Slam by winning all four major singles titles in 1970, part of a record six consecutive major singles victories. Court gave birth to her first child in 1972, but returned to tennis later in the year and won three major singles titles in 1973. She took similar breaks after her second and third children were born, retiring from the game in 1977.
Court is one of only three players in history (all women) to have won the "Boxed Set", consisting of every major title (the singles, doubles and mixed doubles). She is the only player in tennis history to complete adouble Boxed Set. Court is also one of only six tennis players to win a double career Grand Slam in two disciplines, matchingRoy Emerson,Martina Navratilova,Frank Sedgman,Doris Hart, andSerena Williams. She also won theFed Cup with Australia on four occasions. TheInternational Tennis Hall of Fame states "For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment there has never been a tennis player to match (her)."[1]Evonne Goolagong called her the greatest female tennis player of all time.[2][3]
Having grown up as a Roman Catholic, Court became associated withPentecostalism in the 1970s and became a Christian minister in that tradition in 1991. She later founded Margaret Court Ministries.
Court was born on 16 July 1942 inAlbury, New South Wales.[4] She was the fourth and youngest child born to Maude (née Beaufort) and Lawrence Smith.[5] Her mother experienced a difficult delivery and came close to dying in childbirth.[4]
Court was raised in Albury where her father worked as a foreman at a cheese and butter factory. The family lived in a "very modest, two bedroom, thin-walled, asbestos dwelling with a tin roof" and did not own a car during her early childhood.[4] She played a variety of sports as a child, including basketball, cricket, softball and soccer, and had a reputation as atomboy, joining "a group of neighbourhood boys who took pleasure in climbing trees, swinging on ropes over the river, and hitching free rides on trucks as they slowed".[5] Court received her early education at St Bridget's, the local Catholicparochial school. She later attended St Augustine's, aconvent school across the river from Albury inWodonga, Victoria, as well asAlbury Technical College.[5]
Court discovered tennis at the age of eight, playing on her own by hitting a tennis ball against a wall with an old fence paling. She was later given an old racquet by her mother's friend and began sneaking in to the nearby Albury and Border Tennis Club with her friends to play on the grass courts. The club's curator and professional coach Wally Rutter soon noticed her talent and invited her to his weekly coaching clinics. She later credited Rutter with encouraging her to pursue tennis professionally and developing her "killer instinct" and sense of sportsmanship.[6]
Court moved toMelbourne at the age of 16 in order to be coached full-time byFrank Sedgman, a former world No. 1. She moved in with her older sister and worked part-time as a receptionist at Sedgman's athletic centre.[5] Sedgman emphasised physical fitness, developing a training regimen that included circuit running, weight-lifting and running on sandhills. He also got her to play on clay courts for the first time, with the intent that she would one day play the French Open.[7]
As a teenager, Court won various state titles on the Australian junior circuit before winning the1960 Australian Championships on her first attempt at the age of 17, her first major title.[5] This would prove to be the first of seven consecutive national titles.[4] She became the first Australian woman to win a Grand Slam tournament abroad when she won theFrench andUS Championships in 1962. The next year, she became the first Australian woman to winWimbledon. Across singles, doubles and mixed doubles, she has won a remarkable 64 major titles.
After the tournament in Munich, Germany in August 1966, Court temporarily retired from tennis. In 1967, she married Barry Court, whose father,Charles Court, and brother,Richard Court, werepremiers of Western Australia.[8] She returned to tennis in November 1967, and in 1970 won all fourGrand Slam singles titles.[9][10] The next year, she lost the Wimbledon singles final toEvonne Goolagong while pregnant[11] with her first child, Daniel, who was born in March 1972. She made a comeback that year, playing in theUS Open and throughout 1973. Her second child, Marika, was born in 1974. She started playing again in November of that year. After missing most of 1976 after having her third child, she returned to the tour in early 1977 but retired permanently that year when she learned she was expecting her fourth child. Her last Grand Slam tournament singles appearance was in the 1975 US Open.[12] Her last Grand Slam tournament appearance overall was in the1976 Australian Open in women's doubles.[13]
Court is one of only three players to achieve a career "boxed set" of Grand Slam tournament titles, winning every possible major title—singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles—at all four Grand Slam events. The others areDoris Hart andMartina Navratilova. However, Court is the only person to win all 12 Grand Slam events at least twice. She also is unique in having completed "boxed sets" both before theOpen Era and after it began.
Court lost a heavily publicised and U.S.–televised challenge match to a formerworld No. 1 male tennis player, the 55-year-oldBobby Riggs, on 13 May 1973, inRamona, California. Court was the top-ranked women's player at the time, and the New York Times claimed[14] that she did not take the match seriously because it was a mere exhibition. Using a mixture of lobs and drop shots, Riggs beat her 6–2, 6–1. Four months later,Billie Jean King beat Riggs in theBattle of the Sexes match in theHouston Astrodome.[15]
In January 2003, Show Court One at the sports and entertainment complexMelbourne Park was renamedMargaret Court Arena.[16] Since 2012, the arena has attracted calls for its name to be changed on the basis of Court's statements against gay and lesbian rights.[17][18][19]
During the 1960s, Court was considered to have a very long reach which added a new dimension to women's volleying. With a height and reach advantage and being extremely strong, she was very formidable at the net and had an effective overhead shot.[20] She was considered unusually mobile for her size and played an all attack, serve and volley style which, when added to her big serve, dominated conservative defensive players.[21] Part of what helped her win was her commitment to fitness training. Court was dubbed "The Aussie Amazon" because she did weights, circuit training and running along sandy hillsides. This training helped keep her relatively injury-free through most of her career.[22]
Court won a record 64Grand Slam tournament titles, including a record 24 singles titles, 19 women's doubles titles and a record 21 mixed doubles titles. The total includes two shared[23] titles at theAustralian Championships/Open in 1965 and 1969.[24] The mixed doubles finals of those years were not played because of bad weather and the titles are shared by both of the finalist pairs.
Court won 62 of the 85 Grand Slam tournament finals (72.9%) she played, including 24–5 (82.8%) in singles finals, 19–14 (57.6%) in women's doubles finals and 19–4 (82.6%) in mixed doubles finals.
Court reached the final in 29, the semifinals in 36 and the quarterfinals in 43 of the 47 Grand Slams singles tournaments she played. She won 11 of the 16 Grand Slam singles tournaments she entered, beginning with the 1969 Australian Open and ending with the 1973 US Open. She also won 11 of the 17 Grand Slam singles tournaments she entered, beginning with the 1962 Australian Championships and ending with the 1966 Australian Championships. She was 146–2 (98.6%) against unseeded players in Grand Slam singles tournaments.
Court is the only player to have won the Grand Slam in both singles and mixed doubles. She won the singles Grand Slam in 1970, the mixed doubles Grand Slam in 1963 with fellow AustralianKen Fletcher and the mixed doubles Grand Slam in 1965 with three different partners (Fletcher,John Newcombe andFred Stolle).
Court won more than half of all the Grand Slam contests held in 1963 (8 of 12), 1964 (7 of 12), 1965 (9 of 12), 1969 (8 of 12), 1970 (7 of 11) and 1973 (6 of 11).
According to the end-of-year rankings compiled by London'sDaily Telegraph from 1914 to 1972, Court was ranked world No. 1 six times: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969 and 1970. She was also ranked No. 1 for 1973 when the official rankings were produced by theWomen's Tennis Association.
Court was raised as a Roman Catholic but became involved withPentecostalism in the mid-1970s. In 1983, she gained a theological qualification from theRhema Bible Training Centre, and in 1991 was ordained as an independent Pentecostal minister and so speaks publicly about her faith.[33] She subsequently founded a ministry known as Margaret Court Ministries.[34] In 1995, she founded a Pentecostal church known as the Victory Life Centre in Perth.[35] She still serves as its senior pastor. Her television show,A Life of Victory, airs on Sundays on theAustralian Christian Channel and locally in Perth on community television stationWest TV. She has generally embraced teachings associated with theWord of Faith movement[34] and teaches her view of biblical doctrine.[36]
In 1997, Court established Victory Life Community Services, later rebranded as Margaret Court Community Outreach (MCCO).[37] In 2014 it was described byThe West Australian as "one of WA's biggest stand-alone food charities", supplying around 25 tonnes of food each week.[38]
Since 2010, she has been the president of Victory Life International, a network of like-minded churches, and is a long-standing patron of theAustralian Family Association and Drug Free Australia.[39][40][41]
Court has been a consistent critic ofsame-sex marriage in Australia.[42] In 2012, she opposed proposed same-sex marriage reforms.[43][44] Court has been criticised for such statements by gay tennis playersBillie Jean King,Rennae Stubbs andMartina Navratilova,[42][45] and in 2012, an LGBT rights protest group called for the renaming ofMargaret Court Arena.[17]
Court was criticised in May 2017 after writing a letter toThe West Australian decryingQantas, the largest airline in Australia, for being a corporate supporter of same-sex marriage and saying that she would boycott the airline. The letter, and further follow-up interviews, again led to calls from some Australians and tennis players to rename the Margaret Court Arena.[18][46] Some politicians, including Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull, rejected calls for the change of name, saying the name celebrates Margaret Court as a tennis player.[47]
In June 2017, Russell Jackson wrote that Court had always held bigoted views, which he described as "stubbornly immovable", citing her support forapartheid in 1970 ("South Africans have this thing better organised than any other country, particularly America") and her criticisms of Navratilova in 1990 ("a great player but I'd like someone at the top who the younger players can look up to. It's very sad for children to be exposed to homosexuality") as examples.[48] He suggested that this and the similar incident from 2012[44] are calculated provocations, allowing Court to portray herself as the victim and use the publicity to her advantage, and show that "for better or worse, Court is now the principal architect of her own image".[48]
On 23 January 2019,Anna Wintour, in her keynote address for the Australian Open's Inspirational Series, renewed calls for the arena's renaming.[49] Court responded by saying she was "disappointed" that someone "coming from America" was "unable to tolerate views that were not in line with her own" and "[is] telling us in this nation what to do".[50] Later in the year, Court called onTennis Australia to honour her and the 50th anniversary of her 1970 Grand Slam in the same way as it honoured Rod Laver earlier in 2019, arguing that the organisation should disregard her views on same-sex marriage, as her tennis achievements are from "a different phase of my life from where I am now and if we are not big enough as a nation and a game to face those challenges there is something wrong." Tennis Australia issued a statement that it "recognises the tennis achievements of Margaret Court, although her views do not align with our values of equality, diversity and inclusion" and said that it is "in the process of working through" how Court's milestone might be included at the2020 Australian Open.[51] During the tournament, however, high-profile guestsMartina Navratilova andJohn McEnroe paraded a banner calling for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed in honour of four-time Australian Open championEvonne Goolagong.[52][53]
In 2020, her Margaret Court Community Outreach charity was denied aLotterywest grant for a freezer truck on the basis of her public statements on gay people. She subsequently announced she would lodge a complaint with the Equal Opportunity Commission of Western Australia.[54]
Jacqueline McKenzie portrayed Court in the 2001 TV movieWhen Billie Beat Bobby.
Jessica McNamee portrayed Court in the 2017 Hollywood filmBattle of the Sexes.[55]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | 2R | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | A | F | W | W | W | A | W | A | QF | 11 / 14 | 60–3 |
| French Open | A | A | QF | W | QF | W | F | SF | A | A | W | W | 3R | A | W | A | A | 5 / 10 | 44–5 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | QF | 2R | W | F | W | SF | A | QF | SF | W | F | A | SF | A | SF | 3 / 12 | 51–9 |
| US Open | A | A | SF | W | F | 4R | W | A | A | QF | W | W | A | SF | W | A | QF | 5 / 11 | 52–6 |
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 5–0 | 15–3 | 16–1 | 18–2 | 17–2 | 22–1 | 12–2 | 0–0 | 11–3 | 21–1 | 23–0 | 11–2 | 4–1 | 21–1 | 0–0 | 10–3 | 24 / 47 | 207–23 |
| Tournament | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | F | W | W | W | F | W | F | A | SF | W | W | W | A | W | A | F | QF | 8 / 14 |
| French Open | A | A | 3R | F | F | W | W | W | A | A | F | SF | SF | A | W | A | A | A | 4 / 10 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | F | SF | F | W | 3R | F | A | QF | W | QF | F | A | QF | A | QF | A | 2 / 12 |
| US Open | A | A | 2R | QF | W | F | A | A | A | W | F | W | A | F | W | A | W | A | 5 / 10 |
| Tournament | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | W | W | W | SF | A | F | W | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | 4 / 6 |
| French Open | A | A | SF | A | W | W | W | 3R | A | A | W | SF | 3R | A | A | A | A | 4 / 8 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | SF | A | W | F | W | W | A | W | SF | 2R | A | A | F | A | W | 5 / 10 |
| US Open | A | A | W | W | W | W | W | A | A | A | W | W | A | W | F | A | SF | 8 / 10 |
| SR | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 3 | 1 / 1 | 4 / 4 | 3 / 4 | 4 / 4 | 1 / 3 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 2 | 3 / 4 | 1 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 2 | 21 / 34 |
Note: The shared mixed doubles titles at the Australian Championships/Open in 1965 and 1969 are not always counted in Court'sGrand Slam win total because the finals were never played. The Australian Open does officially count them as joint victories.[56] Otherwise, she would have 21 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, which is reflected in the above table.
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1960 | Australian Championships | Grass | Jan Lehane | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 1961 | Australian Championships(2) | Grass | Jan Lehane | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 1962 | Australian Championships(3) | Grass | Jan Lehane | 6–0, 6–2 |
| Win | 1962 | French Championships | Clay | Lesley Turner | 6–3, 3–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 1962 | US Championships | Grass |  Darlene Hard | 9–7, 6–4 |
| Win | 1963 | Australian Championships(4) | Grass | Jan Lehane | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 1963 | Wimbledon | Grass | Billie Jean Moffitt | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1963 | US Championships | Grass |  Maria Bueno | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 1964 | Australian Championships(5) | Grass | Lesley Turner | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1964 | Wimbledon | Grass | Maria Bueno | 4–6, 9–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 1964 | French Championships(2) | Clay | Maria Bueno | 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 1965 | Australian Championships(6) | Grass | Maria Bueno | 5–7, 6–4, 5–2 retired |
| Loss | 1965 | French Championships | Clay | Lesley Turner | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1965 | Wimbledon(2) | Grass | Maria Bueno | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 1965 | US Championships(2) | Grass | Billie Jean Moffitt | 8–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 1966 | Australian Championships(7) | Grass | Nancy Richey | walkover |
| Loss | 1968 | Australian Championships | Grass | Billie Jean King | 1–6, 2–6 |
| ↓ Open Era ↓ | |||||
| Win | 1969 | Australian Open(8) | Grass | Billie Jean King | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 1969 | French Open(3) | Clay |  Ann Haydon-Jones | 6–1, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 1969 | US Open(3) | Grass | Nancy Richey | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 1970 | Australian Open(9) | Grass | Kerry Melville | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 1970 | French Open(4) | Clay |  Helga Masthoff | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 1970 | Wimbledon(3) | Grass | Billie Jean King | 14–12, 11–9 |
| Win | 1970 | US Open(4) | Grass | Rosemary Casals | 6–2, 2–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 1971 | Australian Open(10) | Grass | Evonne Goolagong | 2–6, 7–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1971 | Wimbledon | Grass | Evonne Goolagong | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 1973 | Australian Open(11) | Grass | Evonne Goolagong | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 1973 | French Open(5) | Clay | Chris Evert | 6–7, 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 1973 | US Open(5) | Grass | Evonne Goolagong | 7–6, 5–7, 6–2 |
| Accomplishment | Years | Record | Players matched |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam singles titles won | 1960–1973 | 24 | Stands alone |
| Grand Slam overall titles won | 1960–1975 | 64 | Stands alone[57] |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles titles won | 1960–1975 | 21 | Stands alone |
| Completed the Grand Slam (all 4 in one calendar year) – singles | 1970 | 1 | Maureen Connolly,Steffi Graf |
| Completed the Grand Slam (all 4 in one calendar year) – mixed doubles | 1963, 1965 | 2 | Stands alone[58] |
| Australian Grand Slam singles titles won | 1960–1973 | 11 | Stands alone[58] |
| Australian Grand Slam overall titles won | 1960–1977 | 21 | Stands alone |
| French Grand Slam overall titles won | 1962–1973 | 13 | Stands alone |
| Triple Crown (singles, doubles & mixed doubles champion at same event) | 1963–1970 | 5 | Suzanne Lenglen |
| Career Boxed Set (minimum of every title in all 3 disciplines at all 4 Majors) | 1960–1969 | 2 | Stands alone |
| Most consecutive number of Major titles won | 1969–1971 | 6 | Maureen Connolly,Martina Navratilova |
| Most Major titles won in a single decade | 1960's | 16 | Stands alone |
| 1969 Australian Open – 1971 Australian Open | 1969–1971 | Won 8 out of 9 consecutive | Steffi Graf |
| Open-era best Grand Slam match win percentage | 1968–1975 | 96–10 (90.6%) | Stands alone[59] |
| Never lost a first round singles match at a Grand Slam tournament. | 1960–1977 | 47–0 (100%) | Champions only:Evonne Goolagong,Ann Haydon Jones,Darlene Hard, Maureen Connolly,Nancye Bolton,Helen Wills,Helen Jacobs, andChris Evert |
| Years winning at least three Major singles titles | 1962–1973 | 5 | Steffi Graf |
| Time span | Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963, 1965* and 1969* Australian Championships/Open | Won 3Triple Crowns (singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles titles at the same tournament) | Daphne Akhurst Cozens Nancye Wynne Bolton | |
| 1973 French Open | Won a French Open singles title as a mother | Stands alone | |
| 1973 Australian Open — 1973 US Open | Won 3 Grand Slam singles titles as a mother | Kim Clijsters | |
| *- The mixed doubles titles at the 1965 and 1969 tournaments are shared with opposing finalists due to unplayed final matches. | |||
| Time span | Record accomplished | Players matched |
|---|---|---|
| 1958–1977 | All time women's record of 192 career singles titles | Stands alone |
| 1968–1976 | Open era record of 46 career grass court singles titles | Stands alone |
| 1968–1977 | Open era career singles match winning percentage (all surfaces) 91.17% (593–56) | Stands alone |
| 1968–1977 | Open era career singles match winning percentage (hard court) 91.73% (111–10) | Stands alone |
| 1968–1977 | Open era career singles match winning percentage (grass court) 93.01% (293–22) | Stands alone |
| 1970 | Open era record of 21 singles titles won in one year | Stands alone |
| 1973 | WTA Tour record of 18 singles titles won in one year | Stands alone |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Most Career Grand Slam Singles Titles 1970–present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded byMaureen Connolly (1953) | Winning a Grand Slam 1970 | Succeeded bySteffi Graf (1988) |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
