Australian tennis champion Margaret Court doesn’t believe retiring great Serena Williams “ever admired me” and feels ostracised from the wider tennis community due to her conservative Christian beliefs and stance on LGBTQ issues.
The Perth-based pastor – who founded the Victory Life Centre church in the 1990s following a record-setting tennis career in the 1960s and ’70s – told London’s Telegraph nobody spoke to her at this year’s Wimbledon competition.
Former tennis player Margaret Court. Credit:Getty
“It’s very sad, because a lot of the press and television today, particularly in tennis, don’t want to mention my name,” she told the paper.
“It’s only when they have to, because I still hold so many records. In 2020, I was meant to be coming to Wimbledon for the 50th anniversary of my calendar grand slam. But then COVID hit, so the honour never happened.
“The French Open didn’t invite me, the US Open didn’t invite me. Rod Laver had won the slam and I was going to be honoured in the same way, but no. I didn’t lose any sleep over it.”
The lengthy feature article with Court came on the back of Williams’ third-round exit at the US Open, and the end of her professional tennis career, at the hands of Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Williams retired with 23 grand slam singles titles to her name, one shy of Court’s 24, and is widely hailed the “greatest of all time”.
Her exit at 40 years old follows a return to the sport after the birth of her daughter (and victory at the 2017 Australian Open while two months pregnant – her last major title).
But, in defending her own accomplishments, Court pointed out to the Telegraph that Williams had played for seven more years than she did – and was also at pains to draw parallels with her own postpartum tennis career.
“People forget that I took two years out,” Court said.
“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.
“I came back after two babies! After having the first baby, I won three out of the four slams. And Serena hasn’t won a slam since.”
The devout Pentecostal Christian said she regarded Williams highly as a champion – “I’ve admired her as a player” – however she disliked the American player’s sportsmanship, taking aim at Williams’ lack of acknowledgement of Tomljanovic in the post-match press conference.
Court lamented being “bullied by LGBT groups”, and told the Telegraph: “Even when I’m helping the poor, some companies are not allowed to give my church things because of my name.”
Court, and Victory Life Centre, have drawn their fair share of headlines in recent years.
In July, former prime minister Scott Morrison urged the congregation not to trust in governments – nor the United Nations – as “they are earthly, they are fallible”.
And last year, the Australia Day honours were panned for bestowing Court with an Order of Australia, due to her public stance against same-sex marriage, and comments on the LGBTQ community and gay conversion therapy.
Court told the Telegraph she had “nothing against anybody” and still loved tennis, despite feeling as though her achievements and career were not widely recognised or respected because of her conservative beliefs.
“I became a Christian when I was No.1 in the world,” she said.
“You will never change me from that. This is what I believe and what the Bible says.
“I loved my tennis days, I believe it was a gift from God, and I love what I do today.”
