'That was very, very wrong': Margaret Court responds to Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe protest

The 24-time grand slam singles champion felt she was discriminated against by Tennis Australia at the recent Australian Open.

Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe hold up a banner at Margaret Court arena.

Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe hold up a banner at Margaret Court arena. Source: Twitter

Margaret Court says it was "very sad" the way Tennis Australia had treated her, claiming the peak body had discriminated against her because of her views on same-sex marriage.

Court was honoured at the recently-completed Australian Open to mark the 50th anniversary of her grand slam winning season but the 77-year-old - who once described homosexuality as an "abominable sexual practice" - wasn't impressed with the occasion.
"They (Tennis Australia) have pointed the finger at me and tried to discriminate in everything that I've done, and I think that's very sad," she told Channel Nine.

But TA, which had made it clear that it would celebrate her milestone but rejected her stance on gay marriage and homosexuality, said it had done everything it could for Court, including paying for her and 16 family members to attend a fortnight at the Open.

The body said she had agreed to all the arrangements before coming to Melbourne, including not having a chance to speak on centre court.
Margaret Court.
Margaret Court has celebrated the 50th anniversary of her grand slam success at Melbourne Park. Source: AAP
The Court situation escalated the day after the ceremony when former players Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe protested, calling for her name to be erased from Margaret Court Arena and replaced with that of Evonne Goolagong.

That also left Court unimpressed.

"I'd never go to another nation, whatever I thought of a person, I would never say, 'Hey, you should take their name off a building, or off an arena, or a tennis centre.' I would never do that," Court said.

"I think that was very, very wrong."


Share
Published 4 February 2020 8:22pm
Updated 4 February 2020 8:32pm



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world