Margaret Court has just seen Serena Williams thwarted in a final tilt at equalling her place among the tennis immortals. Check it out.
Margaret Court : Interview | Serena Williams | Titles
Margaret Court AC MBE (born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired tennis player and former world No. 1.
| Residence | Perth, Australia |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 July 1942 Albury, Australia |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Turned pro | 1960 |
| Retired | 1977 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 major singles titles and total of 64 major titles (including 19 Grand Slam women’s doubles and 21 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles) are the most in tennis history.
She is currently a Christian minister in Perth, Western Australia.
Court’s all-surfaces (hard, clay, grass and carpet) singles career-winning percentage of 91.74 is the best of all time according to the Sporteology website.
Her Open era singles career winning percentage of 91.02% (608–60) is unequalled, as is her Open era winning percentage of 91.67% (11–1) in Grand Slam singles finals.
Margaret Court Interview
Australian tennis great Margaret Court, who holds the all-time record for Grand Slam singles titles with 24, says she feels snubbed by the tennis community and Serena Williams.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Court, 80, said that even though she has admired Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles winner, as a player, Court doesn’t “think she has ever admired me.”
In the interview, Court says she has become an unwelcomed name in the tennis community because of her personal beliefs.
“I was at Wimbledon this year and nobody even spoke to me. So I thought, ‘Ah, that’s interesting.’ It’s very sad, because a lot of the press and television today, particularly in tennis, don’t want to mention my name.”
“The French Open didn’t invite me, the U.S. Open didn’t invite me. Rod Laver had won the Slam and I was going to be honored in the same way, but no. I didn’t lose any sleep over it. But the honor has not been there for what I did do. In my own nation, I have been given titles, but they would still rather not mention me.”
Serena williams
Australian Margaret Court believes she does not get as much credit as she deserves for her 24 Grand Slam singles titles from anyone in the tennis world these days, least of all Serena Williams.
Williams was feted in many quarters as the greatest tennis player of all time when she retired after her third-round loss at the US Open on Saturday, one title shy of the record Court set from 1960 to 1973.
“Serena, I’ve admired her as a player,” Court, 80, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph in a rare interview.
Court said she has become a persona non grata in the tennis world because of her Christian beliefs, which led her to oppose same-sex marriage when it was proposed in Australia.
The 80-year-old defended her achievements against suggestions they were not comparable to those of Williams because she played mostly in the amateur era.
“Serena has played seven years more than I did,” Court added. “I finished in my early 30s. People forget that I took two years out. I first retired … when I was 25, thinking I would never return to tennis.
“I got married, had a baby, but then had one of my best years, winning 24 out of 25 tournaments.”
Court reminded her critics that she also had a superior record to Williams after they became mothers during their careers.
Margaret Court titles
Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 major singles titles and total of 64 major titles (including 19 Grand Slam women’s doubles and 21 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles) are the most in tennis history.
In 1979, Court was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
And in 2006, she was awarded the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) accolade, the Philippe Chatrier Award.
In 2007, she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), for her services to tennis, as a mentor and to the community.