“I think I always said, even when Williams was trying, I’ve always said that one [24 majors] is there to be beaten,” Court said.
“I think it’s a goal for somebody to go to.”
German superstar Steffi Graf, a favourite player of Court’s, got her hands on 22 grand slams, a figure also matched by recently retired great Rafael Nadal, with Roger Federer (20), not far behind.
While the grand slam singles tally makes for great fodder for tennis boffins, Court is especially proud of another number: 64, the combined number of grand slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles she secured during a ridiculously successful career that began when she won the 1960 Australian Open, aged 17. Court then won the next six, and finished her career with 11 Australian titles. She can proudly point to her “boxed set”, too, as one of three players (all women) to have won every major title in the sport’s three disciplines.
Djokovic and Court played in two different tennis eras that were a world apart.
But Court can envisage how she and others would have fitted in the modern game.
Court, then Margaret Smith, with the Wimbledon trophy in 1963.Credit: United Press International
“I was probably the first to do weights. Women didn’t do weights back in that time,” she said.
“I’d get called the ‘Aussie Amazon’ by the press.
“You hear people ask, ‘Well, would you fit in today?’ I think we would have, and I think [Rod] Laver would have too, just a different time, but we pioneered what people are watching today.”
Albury-born Court headed to Melbourne as a 16-year-old and trained under Australia’s former world No.1 Frank Sedgman. Her more than 15 years at or near the top spanned the end of amateur tennis and the start of the open era. Remarkably, when it ended, she says she wasn’t even sure about her finishing tally. “It wasn’t until [former player, tennis commentator and author] John Barrett and television became so much bigger that they started to add up all what I had done,” Court said. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know I’d won 64 grand slams altogether. I had no idea. I never added them [up].”
Court is renowned for her fierce rivalry with Billie Jean King, the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association.
Their conflicting views on same-sex marriage also put them at odds philosophically. Court’s vocal and much-publicised opposition to homosexuality even prompted King at one point to call for her name to stripped from Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park.
The two played each other 32 times, including in five grand slam finals, with the Australian victorious 22 times.
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“Well, Billie Jean was always competitive with me,” said Court, reflecting on their relationship. “You know, we had battles. Everybody wanted a Court-King final.
“She was the sort of player who always had the tactics. She just knew how to try and get through players, too.”
Pushed further on whether she enjoys any form of pleasant catch up with her fierce rival, Court said: “Well, we, we say, ‘hello’, yeah, that’s about it”.
Court watches plenty of tennis, and cites men’s legends Federer and Nadal as some of the top men she loved to watch. Graf and two players she confronted on the court, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, get a special mention.
“I thought she [Graf] was a wonderful athlete. She could play all ’round,” said Court.
Of the current WTA contingent at the top, Court says: “I think they’re all pretty even at the moment.
“But it’d be lovely to see more variety [in the women’s game].
“That’s where [Ash] Barty was good. Yeah, she had that variety. I enjoyed watching that, but you haven’t got that amongst a lot of them now.”
Court comes to Melbourne in the summer, and asked to comment on her main observations from more than 50 years of change for the sport, noted how it’s now far easier for mothers. As for Melbourne itself, the city with the Australian Open venue that moved up the river from Kooyong to its current spot with an enormous footprint close to the city centre, Court says: “It’s so wonderful. You know, you think, what would it be like if you were born into this time, just the facilities, training, things, everything is wonderful.
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“You can take your family with you 1737660081. We had none of that, so it was a lot harder back then.”
Court had a brief hiatus from tennis in 1966 and 1967, and gave birth to her first child in 1972. She quickly returned to the sport and didn’t miss a beat, winning three majors in 1973. Furthermore, the Australian won 11 of her 24 singles slams in the open era.
Court says she took being a mother on tour in her stride.
“I probably played some of my best tennis after I had a baby. I won 25 out of 26 tournaments in that one year coming back,” Court remembers.
“I remember being kicked out of Kooyong, out of the dressing room because I took my baby in with me.
“But … I didn’t have too much time to think about me. I was thinking of my husband and baby, and that was good for me.”
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