Margaret on Court, off Court: Tennis great Djokovic has tied with on 24 Grand Slams

When coping with the quantity 24 in Grand Slam tennis’ historical past books, earlier than Novak Djokovic, there was Margaret Court

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Here’s a more in-depth have a look at the lifetime of fierce and sometimes controversial determine in world sport

The Australian, whose profession flourished alongside the likes of Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, was born in 1942 in Albury, New South Wales

Court tops the stat books in tennis – successful extra Grand Slams (66) than some other girl within the historical past of the game. This included 24 singles titles.

A pure left-hander, Court was coached into switching to her proper hand. When she was 18, in 1960, she received the primary of seven consecutive single titles on the Australian Open. Two years later, Court additionally turned the primary Australian girl to win a Grand Slam match overseas when she returned house with triumphs on the French and US Open.

In 1965, she turned the one participant in historical past to win a blended doubles Grand Slam twice – successful the French Open and Wimbledon with Ken Fletcher, the Australian Open with John Newcombe and the US Open with Fred Stolle. In 1970, she turned the primary girl within the Open Era (1968-onwards) to win a calendar Grand Slam (all 4 Majors in a yr). She is the second girl total to take action after Maureen Connolly in 1953.

Court already had two kids by then and had her third in 1975. She shares the document for many Major titles by a mom with Belgium’s Kim Clijsters.

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Just like Djokovic, the majority of Court’s Grand Slam titles have are available Australia. She received the Australian Open 11 occasions, together with seven in a row from 1960 to 1966. She additionally loved success in America, successful the US Open 5 occasions in 1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, and 1973. She has 5 French Open titles to her title, successful in Paris in 1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, and 1973. Wimbledon proved to be the toughest Grand Slam for Court to win, with Court having solely three titles right here in 1963, 1965, and 1970

Court is one in every of solely three gamers in historical past (all ladies) to have received the “Boxed Set” – a milestone the place a participant has received each main title (the singles, doubles and blended doubles). She is the one participant in tennis historical past to finish a double Boxed Set. Court can also be one in every of solely six tennis gamers to win a double profession Grand Slam in two disciplines, matching Roy Emerson, Martina Navratilova, Frank Sedgman, Doris Hart, and Serena Williams

Her aggressive method was aided by a dogged dedication to remain match. She would do weights and multi-terrain runs to construct stamina and endurance and earned the tag – the Aussie Amazon for a way match she was. This helped her keep largely harm free throughout her illustrious profession. The numbers are there for all to see – Court received 62 of the 85 Grand Slam match finals (72.9%) she performed in.

‘Court’ing controversy

“Hold on to your beliefs, no matter how unpopular, no matter if saying your piece is going to get you in trouble,” Court stated in 2016. These are phrases which have outlined her public picture through the years. Court has drawn constant criticism for her views on homosexuality and has at all times been unapologetic about her opinions.

A pastor now, Court’s conservative views have at all times discovered resistance in a nationwide ecosystem that has labored in the direction of a liberal approach of perform. She was ordained as a Pentecostal minister in 1991 and later based the Pentecostal church in Perth, referred to as Victory Life Centre.

However, she has ‘courted’ controversy (pardon the pun) as early as 1970 when she appeared to reward the coverage of racial segregation in apartheid South Africa. “South Africans have this thing better organised than any other country, particularly America,” she stated. “I love South Africa. I’ll go back there any time.”

In 1990, Navratilova was the goal of her feedback when she stated, “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. Martina is a nice person. Her life has just gone astray.”

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In 2013, she wrote a letter to a newspaper, expressing disappointment on the start of Australian tennis participant Casey Dellacqua’s baby in a same-sex relationship

In 2017, when the Australian authorities was working in the direction of legalising same-sex marriages, Court, in an interview to 20Twenty Vision Christian Radio spoke of how tennis is “full of lesbians” and the way transgender kids had been the “work of the devil.”

Just a few years later, Court sparked extra drama when she penned an open-letter to Qantas, refusing to fly with the airline due to its help for same-sex marriage. In 2019, she directed her criticism at trans athletes and kids in a sermon on the Pentecostal church in Perth, the place she preaches.

“Because we are living in a season.. even that LGBT and the schools – it’s of the devil, it’s not of God,” Court instructed her congregation then.

“And you know with that LGBT, they’ll wish they never put the T on the end of it because, particularly in women’s sports, they’re going to have so many problems.”

Court has had a number of run-ins with Tennis Australia resulting from her views and there have been calls to get the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne renamed, a name folks like Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe have lent their voices to. McEnroe has even labelled her as ‘tennis’ loopy aunt.’

At the Australian Open in 2020, Court was honoured on the fiftieth anniversary of her successful the Calendar Grand Slam in 1970, however the ceremony on the Rod Laver Arena had little or no fanfare.

During the identical match, after a Legends exhibition match, McEnroe and Navratilova walked into the Margaret Court Arena holding a banner saying “Evonne Goolagong Arena,” asking for the stadium to be renamed after the seven-time Grand Slam winner.

In 2020, McEnroe directed a message to Serena Williams, who was then the closest to Court’s 24-Grand Slam tally, saying “Please win two more Grand Slams, so we can leave Margaret Court and her offensive views in the past where she belongs.”

Djokovic appears to have taken up the task, no less than for the stat books.