Margaret Court to be ‘recognised’ - why is she such a divisive figure?

The Australian holds the record for all-time Grand Slam singles titles and 2020 is the 50th anniversary of when she won all four major titles in a calendar year.

But her views on gay marriage and transgender athletes have split opinion on how these successes should be marked.

Tennis Australia says it plans to “recognise” - rather than “celebrate” - her 1970 sweep of the Slams at this month’s Australian Open, while reiterating its stance against the 77-year-old’s “demeaning” personal views.

Court was a quiet champion, dominant over her sporting rivals but shy and retiring in public life. Now she finds herself at the centre of a long-running polemic set to play out its latest chapter. She is a divisive figure, branded “homophobic”, “ignorant” and “dangerous” for her very publicly expressed beliefs.

So just how did a women with 64 Grand Slam singles and doubles trophies get to this point?

There was a time when Margaret Court was simply a “great champion”.

Her haul of 192 career singles titles between 1960 and 1977 is a women’s record and her 24 Grand Slam singles titles is an all-time record. She also shares the record with Belgium’s Kim Clijsters for major titles won as a mother (three).

Her calendar Grand Slam 50 years ago came in a season where she won 21 of 27 tournaments, and 104 of 110 matches.

“She was a great athlete and an all-court player,” says former French Open and Australian Open champion Nancy Richey, who reached the doubles final with Court at Roland Garros in 1969.

“She was as good on the baseline as she was at the net, which is a rarity. She had good groundstrokes, a good forehand, a good backhand - she was just tough.

“Most of the players were about my height - 5ft 6in or 5ft 7in - but she was about 5ft 10in or so. There were so few that had a lot of height, she was very imposing.

“She was the first one really to lift weights and she had really built up her right shoulder and arm. She had long arms, in fact her nickname was ‘Arms’. She went about it almost like they do today as far as lifting weights and that kind of thing.”

Court’s Grand Slam singles record is close to being equalled - Serena Williams is one title away from drawing level and will get her next chance to do so at the Australian Open, which starts on Monday.

The American, 38, has been stuck on 23 for three years, with her last major victory the 2017 Australian Open, which she won while eight weeks pregnant. Since coming back from having her daughter, she has reached four Grand Slam finals but failed at the final hurdle each time, most recently in September’s US Open defeat by Canadian Bianca Andreescu.

Many will point out that Court’s record was set in a different period - spanning the amateur and professional eras, with only 11 of her major titles coming in the Open era. Many will argue that some of the fields were not as competitive as today. Still, the Australian’s record is one Williams covets.

This milestone is “why she came back to playing tennis after having a baby and so many medical complications”, Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou said before last year’s Wimbledon final, which she lost to Simona Halep.

Court’s achievements earned her multiple honours, including an induction to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, an MBE and her face on an Australian postage stamp.

She also had the Margaret Court Arena named after her at the Australian Open’s Melbourne Park in 2003 - but less than a decade later there were calls for it to be renamed.