Margaret Court facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Reverend
Margaret Court
AC MBE

Court in 2018
Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	Perth, Australia
Born	(1942-07-16) 16 July 1942 (age 83) Albury, Australia
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Turned pro	1968
Retired	1977
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1979 (member page)
Singles
Career titles	192 (92 during the Open Era)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1962)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973)
French Open	W (1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1973)
Wimbledon	W (1963, 1965, 1970)
US Open	W (1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1973)
Doubles
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1963)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973)
French Open	W (1964, 1965, 1966, 1973)
Wimbledon	W (1964, 1969)
US Open	W (1963, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1975)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1973, 1975)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	21 (7 during the open era)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (1963, 1964, 1965, 1969)
French Open	W (1963, 1964, 1965, 1969)
Wimbledon	W (1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1975)
US Open	W (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1972)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1964, 1965, 1968, 1971)

Margaret Court is an Australian former world number one tennis player. She is also a Christian minister. She holds the record for the most major titles in tennis history. This includes 24 women's singles titles, 19 women's doubles titles, and 21 mixed doubles titles. That's a total of 64 major titles!

Margaret Court was born in Albury, New South Wales, Australia, on July 16, 1942. At just 17 years old, in 1960, she won her first of seven straight Australian Open singles titles. By 1963, she had won all four major singles titles, completing her first career Grand Slam. After a short break in 1966 and 1967, she returned to tennis. In 1970, she achieved the amazing feat of winning all four major singles titles in one year, known as the Grand Slam. This was part of a record six major singles wins in a row.

Margaret Court became a mother in 1972 but quickly returned to tennis. She won three more major singles titles in 1973. She took breaks after her other children were born too. She officially retired from the sport in 1977.

She is one of only three players ever to win the "Boxed Set". This means she won every major title (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) at all four Grand Slam events. She is the only player to complete a double Boxed Set. Experts at the International Tennis Hall of Fame have said that "For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment there has never been a tennis player to match (her)." Fellow tennis legend Evonne Goolagong called her the greatest female tennis player of all time.

Early Life and Tennis Beginnings

Margaret Court was born on July 16, 1942, in Albury, New South Wales. She was the youngest of four children. Her family lived in a small home and did not own a car when she was young.

As a child, Margaret loved playing many sports. These included basketball, cricket, softball, and soccer. She was known as a tomboy and enjoyed outdoor adventures with neighborhood boys. She went to Catholic schools in Albury and Wodonga.

Margaret found tennis when she was eight years old. She started by hitting a ball against a wall with an old fence picket. Later, she got an old tennis racquet. She would sneak into the local tennis club with friends to play on the grass courts. The club's coach, Wally Rutter, soon noticed her talent. He invited her to his coaching lessons. Margaret later said that Rutter helped her become a professional tennis player. He also taught her to have a "killer instinct" and good sportsmanship.

At 16, Margaret moved to Melbourne to train full-time. Her coach was Frank Sedgman, a former world number one player. She lived with her older sister and worked part-time. Sedgman focused on physical fitness. Her training included running, weight-lifting, and running on sandhills. He also had her play on clay courts. This was so she could prepare for the French Open.

Margaret Court's Amazing Tennis Career

Court in 1964

As a teenager, Margaret won many junior tennis titles in Australia. In 1960, at age 17, she won her first major title: the Australian Championships. This was the first of seven national titles she would win in a row. In 1962, she became the first Australian woman to win a Grand Slam tournament outside Australia. She won the French and US Championships that year. The next year, 1963, she won Wimbledon. This made her the first Australian woman to win that famous tournament. Overall, she won an incredible 64 major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

After a tournament in Germany in August 1966, Margaret took a break from tennis. In 1967, she married Barry Court. She returned to tennis in November 1967. In 1970, she achieved the rare feat of winning all four Grand Slam singles titles in one year. This is called a "Grand Slam." The next year, in 1971, she lost the Wimbledon singles final while pregnant with her first child, Daniel. He was born in March 1972. She made a comeback later that year and played throughout 1973. Her second child, Marika, was born in 1974. She played again in November of that year. After missing most of 1976 due to her third child, she retired permanently in 1977. This was because she was expecting her fourth child. Her last Grand Slam singles match was at the 1975 US Open. Her very last Grand Slam appearance was in women's doubles at the 1976 Australian Open.

Margaret Court is one of only three players to achieve a "career boxed set" of Grand Slam titles. This means she won every possible major title: singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles, at all four Grand Slam events. The other two players are Doris Hart and Martina Navratilova. However, Margaret Court is the only person to win all 12 Grand Slam events at least twice. She also completed "boxed sets" both before and after the Open Era of tennis began in 1968.

In 1973, Margaret Court played a highly publicized match against Bobby Riggs. He was a 55-year-old former world number one male tennis player. Riggs won the match 6–2, 6–1. Four months later, Billie Jean King beat Riggs in a famous match called the Battle of the Sexes.

In January 2003, Show Court One at Melbourne Park was renamed Margaret Court Arena in her honor.

Playing Style and Records

Court at the net in 1970

In the 1960s, Margaret Court was known for her very long reach. This made her excellent at volleying at the net. She was tall and strong, which helped her hit powerful overhead shots. She was also very fast for her size. Her playing style was aggressive, focusing on serve and volley. This style often overpowered players who played more defensively.

Margaret was also very dedicated to fitness training. She was called "The Aussie Amazon" because she lifted weights, did circuit training, and ran on sandy hills. This training helped her stay healthy and avoid injuries throughout most of her career.

Margaret Court holds a record 64 Grand Slam tournament titles. This includes a record 24 singles titles, 19 women's doubles titles, and a record 21 mixed doubles titles. She won 62 of the 85 major finals she played. This means she won 82.8% of her singles finals!

She reached the final in 29 major singles tournaments. She made it to the semifinals in 36 tournaments and the quarterfinals in 43 of the 47 major singles tournaments she played. She was almost unbeatable against unseeded players, winning 146 out of 148 matches.

Margaret Court is the only player to win the Grand Slam in both singles and mixed doubles. She won the singles Grand Slam in 1970. She won the mixed doubles Grand Slam in 1963 with Ken Fletcher. She also won it in 1965 with three different partners.

She won more than half of all major tournaments in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1970, and 1973. She was ranked world number one six times between 1962 and 1970. She was also ranked number one in 1973 by the Women's Tennis Association.

Career Highlights

Margaret Court playing doubles at Wimbledon alongside Evonne Goolagong

• 1960 – Won her first singles title at the Australian Championships.
• 1962 – Won three of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments.
• 1963 – Became the first Australian woman to win a singles title at Wimbledon. She and Ken Fletcher won all four Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles in the same year.
• 1964 – Won her women's doubles title at Wimbledon. This completed her career "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles.
• 1965 – Won three of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments. She also won all four Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles with three different partners.
• 1966 – Took a temporary break from tennis.
• 1968 – Returned to playing full-time.
• 1970 – Achieved the Grand Slam by winning all four major singles tournaments in one calendar year. Only Maureen Connolly (1953) and Steffi Graf (1988) have also done this.
• 1971 – Won the Australian Championship for the 10th time. She then took a break for the birth of her first child.
• 1972 – Returned to the tour in late July.
• 1973 – Won three of the four Grand Slam singles and women's doubles tournaments. She became the first mother in the Open Era to win the Australian, French, and US Open championships.
• 1975 – Played her final Grand Slam singles match. She won her 62nd Grand Slam title and 19th Grand Slam women's doubles title at the US Open. This was her last Grand Slam title.
• 1977 – Played her final singles match before retiring permanently.

Honors and Awards

Margaret Court has received many honors for her amazing tennis career:

• 1967: Made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her contributions to sport.
• 1970: Won the ABC Sportsman of the Year Award.
• 1979: Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
• 1985: Inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. She was later named a "Legend" in 1998.
• 1993: Inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame.
• 2003: Honored by Australia Post with a special postage stamp.
• 2006: Received the Philippe Chatrier Award from the International Tennis Federation.
• 2007: Made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).
• 2021: Advanced to a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), the highest civilian honor in Australia.

Ministry Work

Margaret Court was raised as a Roman Catholic. In the mid-1970s, she became involved with Pentecostalism. She studied theology and became an independent Pentecostal minister in 1991. She often speaks publicly about her faith. She founded a ministry called Margaret Court Ministries. In 1995, she started a Pentecostal church in Perth called the Victory Life Centre. She still serves as its senior pastor. Her television show, A Life of Victory, is shown on the Australian Christian Channel.

In 1997, Margaret Court started Victory Life Community Services. This group was later renamed Margaret Court Community Outreach (MCCO). By 2014, it was known as one of Western Australia's largest food charities. It provides about 25 tons of food each week to help people.

Since 2010, she has been the president of Victory Life International, a group of churches. She also supports the Australian Family Association and Drug Free Australia.

Public Discussions

In recent years, Margaret Court's comments on certain social topics have led to public discussions. For example, in 2017, she expressed her views about an airline supporting certain social causes. This led to some people and tennis players suggesting that Margaret Court Arena should be renamed. However, some politicians, including then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, said the name should stay. They argued that the name celebrates Margaret Court's achievements as a tennis player.

In 2019, Anna Wintour also suggested renaming the arena. Margaret Court responded by saying she was "disappointed" that someone from another country was "unable to tolerate views that were not in line with her own." Later that year, she asked Tennis Australia to honor her 1970 Grand Slam anniversary. Tennis Australia stated that they recognize her tennis achievements but that her views do not match their values of equality, diversity, and inclusion. During the 2020 Australian Open, tennis legends Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe displayed a banner calling for the arena to be renamed after Evonne Goolagong.

In 2020, Margaret Court's charity was denied a grant for a freezer truck. This was due to her public statements. She announced she would complain to the Equal Opportunity Commission.

Portrayal in Film

Margaret Court has been shown in movies:

• Jacqueline McKenzie played her in the 2001 TV movie When Billie Beat Bobby.
• Jessica McNamee played her in the 2017 Hollywood film Battle of the Sexes.

Grand Slam Singles Finals

Margaret Court played in 29 Grand Slam singles finals, winning 24 of them.

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1960	Australian Championships	Grass	Jan Lehane	7–5, 6–2
Win	1961	Australian Championships (2)	Grass	Jan Lehane	6–1, 6–4
Win	1962	Australian Championships (3)	Grass	Jan Lehane	6–0, 6–2
Win	1962	French Championships	Clay	Lesley Turner	6–3, 3–6, 7–5
Win	1962	US Championships	Grass	Darlene Hard	9–7, 6–4
Win	1963	Australian Championships (4)	Grass	Jan Lehane	6–2, 6–2
Win	1963	Wimbledon	Grass	Billie Jean King	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1963	US Championships	Grass	Maria Bueno	5–7, 4–6
Win	1964	Australian Championships (5)	Grass	Lesley Turner	6–3, 6–2
Loss	1964	Wimbledon	Grass	Maria Bueno	4–6, 9–7, 3–6
Win	1964	French Championships (2)	Clay	Maria Bueno	5–7, 6–1, 6–2
Win	1965	Australian Championships (6)	Grass	Maria Bueno	5–7, 6–4, 5–2 ret.
Loss	1965	French Championships	Clay	Lesley Turner	3–6, 4–6
Win	1965	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Maria Bueno	6–4, 7–5
Win	1965	US Championships (2)	Grass	Billie Jean King	8–6, 7–5
Win	1966	Australian Championships (7)	Grass	Nancy Richey	walkover
Loss	1968	Australian Championships	Grass	Billie Jean King	1–6, 2–6
↓ Open Era ↓
Win	1969	Australian Open (8)	Grass	Billie Jean King	6–4, 6–1
Win	1969	French Open (3)	Clay	Ann Haydon-Jones	6–1, 4–6, 6–3
Win	1969	US Open (3)	Grass	Nancy Richey	6–2, 6–2
Win	1970	Australian Open (9)	Grass	Kerry Melville	6–1, 6–3
Win	1970	French Open (4)	Clay	Helga Masthoff	6–2, 6–4
Win	1970	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Billie Jean King	14–12, 11–9
Win	1970	US Open (4)	Grass	Rosemary Casals	6–2, 2–6, 6–1
Win	1971	Australian Open (10)	Grass	Evonne Goolagong	2–6, 7–6, 7–5
Loss	1971	Wimbledon	Grass	Evonne Goolagong	4–6, 1–6
Win	1973	Australian Open (11)	Grass	Evonne Goolagong	6–4, 7–5
Win	1973	French Open (5)	Clay	Chris Evert	6–7, 7–6, 6–4
Win	1973	US Open (5)	Grass	Evonne Goolagong	7–6, 5–7, 6–2

More Records and Achievements

Margaret Court holds many impressive records in tennis history:

• She has won the most Grand Slam singles titles ever, with 24 wins.
• She has the most overall Grand Slam titles (singles, doubles, mixed doubles) with 64.
• She won the most Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, with 21.
• She is one of only three women to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in one year (the Grand Slam), which she did in 1970.
• She is the only player to win all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in one year, and she did it twice (1963 and 1965).
• She won the Australian Grand Slam singles title 11 times, more than anyone else.
• She won 21 overall Australian Grand Slam titles.
• She won 13 overall French Grand Slam titles.
• She completed the "Career Boxed Set" (winning every type of title at all four majors) twice, which is unique.
• She won 6 consecutive major titles between 1969 and 1971.
• She has the best Grand Slam match win percentage in the Open Era (90.6%).
• She never lost a first-round singles match at a Grand Slam tournament (47 wins, 0 losses).
• She won at least three major singles titles in five different years.
• She holds the all-time women's record for 192 career singles titles.
• She has the Open Era record for 46 career grass court singles titles.
• Her Open Era career singles match winning percentage is an amazing 91.17%.
• In 1970, she won a record 21 singles titles in one year.
• In 1973, she won a WTA Tour record of 18 singles titles in one year.

See also

In Spanish: Margaret Court para niños