Is it becoming more difficult to uphold her beliefs in the face of hostility? Court gives an unequivocal answer. “I became a Christian when I was No.1 in the world,” she says. “This is what I believe and what the Bible says. People miss out on the reality, which can be so wonderful in your life. I’m 80 now, and I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family and a wonderful church. “We put out 100 tonnes of food into the community every week. I love it. I loved my tennis days, I believe it was a gift from God, and I love what I do today.” Loading Even altruistic work can be complicated, though, given the extent to which Court has been ostracised both in Australia and overseas. Recently, she was refused a state lottery grant as a consequence of her “biblical views”. “Even when I’m helping the poor, some companies are not allowed to give my church things because of my name,” she says.
There are vehement demands, too, for Melbourne Park’s Margaret Court Arena to be renamed, with LGBTQ lobbyists calling for the change in reaction to her “consistent attacks” on their community. “Well, they got everything they wanted in marriage, and everything else,” Court says. “So, I think, ‘Why, when you should be so happy you’ve got that, are you still taking it out on people if they haven’t got the same beliefs?’ That’s what I don’t understand.” In the minds of younger tennis fans who have grown up with Williams’ dominance, Court belongs to the realm of sepia. But a half-century on, her body of work is still staggering. Across her amateur and professional career, she won 1180 of 1287 matches, earning the moniker “the Aussie Amazon” for her supreme fitness, which owed much to her running drills on sand hills. At the majors, once singles, doubles and mixed titles are added together, her record trounces that of Williams, 64-39. “The 64,” she predicts, “I don’t think anyone will ever touch.” She also amassed that prodigious total in a relatively short span. “Serena has played seven years more than I did,” Court says. “I finished in my early 30s. People forget that I took two years out. I first retired, like Ash Barty, 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.” The standards by which Court and Williams are judged can be wildly inconsistent. Take motherhood as an example. There has been huge admiration for Williams’ performances since giving birth to daughter Olympia in 2017. Except the route from parenthood to major finals was one Court had already conquered.
Ajla Tomljanovic’s victory in the US Open third round was overshadowed by Serena Williams’ exit. Credit:AP “I came back after two babies!” she exclaims. “After having the first baby, I won three out of the four slams. And Serena hasn’t won a slam since.” Court is at pains to stress she regards Williams highly as a champion. But there are signs she does not care much for the American’s sportsmanship, or lack of it. Williams told a New York lineswoman in 2009 that she would “f---ing take the ball and shove it down your throat”, and accused umpire Eva Asderaki in 2011 of being “unattractive inside”. Observing the curtain call from Australia, Court was unimpressed that the retiring superstar neglected to give greater acknowledgement to the winner, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. “I thought it was bad that Williams didn’t mention her opponent more when she spoke,” she says. “We were taught to be role models for the young, in how we behaved. We were taught to honour our opponent. You learnt from your losses. We respected one another.”
There is also some revisionism at work. At first, Williams made no secret that the emulation of Court’s singles record was an ambition. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it,” she said. “Obviously I do.” In the lead-up to her final tournament, she changed tack, saying: “I’ve already broken the record.” At best, this is a moot point. Granted, Court won the majority of her titles before the dawn of the open era in 1968, when professionals were allowed to compete alongside amateurs. But the record book does not recognise this demarcation. Billie Jean King, another to have condemned Court for her position on homosexuality, has unconditionally anointed Williams as “the greatest”. One reason is that she has no regard for the Australian Open that Court bestrode in the 1960s, dismissing it at the time as “minor league”. It is a characterisation Court strongly rejects.
“I won 11 Australian Opens. I often hear Billie Jean saying that people didn’t come down to Australia in my early years. But Maria Bueno, the world No.1, came down. So did Christine Truman, Ann Haydon, Darlene Hard. Plus, Australia had some wonderful players” Court has little time, either, for the notion that Williams has had a far more onerous experience staying at the summit than she did. Loading “I would love to have played in this era – I think it’s so much easier,” she says. “How I would love to have taken family or friends along with me. But I couldn’t, I had to go on my own or with the national team. People don’t see all that. As amateurs, we had to play every week because we didn’t have any money. Now, they can take off whenever they want, fly back whenever they want. “We would be away for 10 months. That’s why I first retired in 1965 because I used to get homesick. You might be with the odd other person, but it’s not like having your family there. We didn’t have psychologists or coaches with us. It’s a whole different world. That’s what disappoints me – that players today don’t honour the past of the game.”