Ahead of Rafael Nadal’s fourth-round match against Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open in Melbourne, 24-time major winner Margaret Court was presented with a trophy in honor of the 50th anniversary of her historic 1970 Grand Slam.
The 77-year-old Australian was the first player to achieve the feat in the Open era and she still holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles with 24, achievements which led to Melbourne Park’s third-largest court . named after her in 2003.
The presentation, however, took place in the much larger Rod Laver Arena, with a capacity of almost 15,000 people, the biggest stage the Australian Open has to offer. Footage from Court’s career, including that extraordinary year of 1970, was projected onto the big screens, alongside images of Court recalling his successes, while music and a light show completed the show.
But that’s where the ceremonial grandeur stopped. Rod Laver himself handed the trophy to his compatriot, who proudly presented it to the crowd, but he seemed unwilling to spend any more time on the blue acrylic court than was absolutely necessary.
This is because the Court has become a controversial figure. After ending her career in 1977, she was ordained as a Pentecostal minister and regularly spoke out against LGBT rights, homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Most recently, in December 2019, she said transgender children were “the work of the devil” and decried that women’s tennis was “full of lesbians.”
“The devil has entered the media, politicians, teachers and television,” she continued. “He wants to control people and influence their minds.”
Therefore, there have been several calls to rename the arena named after him while Tennis Australia said it “recognizes Margaret Court’s tennis achievements, even though her views do not align with our values of equality, diversity and inclusion”. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has “made it clear to Margaret” that his views are not shared.
Yet neither before the ceremony nor on the day itself was there any sign around Melbourne Park that anyone actually wanted to address the subject in an open and critical way. On the contrary, organizers, journalists, commentators and supporters all seemed united by a certain indifference, even embarrassment, when asked about the issue. Silence on the pitch, please, as the referees say.
When approached by DW, some visitors didn’t even understand what it meant. “It’s all about tennis” was a common refrain, echoing comments from Boris Becker, head of men’s tennis at the German Tennis Federation (DTB), who spoke out against the renaming of the Margaret Court Arena.
“She became famous as a tennis player and won 24 Grand Slams,” said the legendary German player who also works as a pundit for the TV channel Eurosport. “What happens off the field should not play a role here. It should be celebrated and honored.”
Navratilova and McEnroe speak out
The question of whether or not the stadium should be renamed divides opinion in tennis, although it must be acknowledged that those who have spoken out on the subject in the past do not, in the vast majority, share the opinion of the Court.
The Court’s most prominent critic and supporter of renaming the arena is Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, who herself came out as gay after becoming a US citizen in 1981. The legend of Czech origin has in the past asked the court to be renamed in honor of Evonne Goolagong, the four-time Australian Open singles champion of Indigenous descent.
“What Margaret doesn’t realize is that she’s hurting people,” Navratilova said of Court. “She can believe whatever she wants, but it’s not okay to hurt others.”
John McEnroe, in typical fashion, went even further. The New Yorker, who won 77 singles and 78 doubles titles during an illustrious career, criticized Court in 2017 for “taking tennis back to the dark ages” and once again expressed clearly his feelings in a video blog.
As the self-proclaimed “commissioner of tennis,” McEnroe called Court tennis’ “crazy old aunt” and begged Serena Williams, who currently has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, to “win two more Grand Slam titles this year and reach 25”. , so we can leave Margaret Court and her offensive opinions in the past, where they both belong. »
McEnroe, who was as renowned for his unsportsmanlike and crude outbursts on the tennis court as he was for his serves and volleys, also praised Tennis Australia for hosting the so-called “Glam Slam”, an LGBTIQ tennis tournament which is now in her third year, adding that “Margaret would probably call it hell on earth.”
On Monday, McEnroe and Navratilova paraded a banner that the latter had painted in an Aboriginal style in her hotel room that read: “Evonne Goolagong Arena.” In an interview with the BBC, Navratilova said she acted because she “felt like the conversation had just stopped.”
Business as usual
Current players have been much less forthcoming, instead focusing on their sport and avoiding awkward questions.
“It’s not a locker room topic at all,” German number one Angelique Kerber said after her second-round victory over Australian qualifier Priscilla Horn. Judging by her appearance and the tone of her voice, she didn’t want to answer any more questions. about it.
Meanwhile, not far from Craig Tiley’s office, hundreds of accredited journalists are scattered across the fourth floor of the federation’s headquarters. During the daily press briefings since the start of the tournament, the subject has not been mentioned once. For journalists, it’s a sideshow.
“Big day for big Maggie,” an Australian journalist told his colleagues on the afternoon of the ceremony. They didn’t seem to know how to respond. “Are you writing about this?”
“No, it’s not a tennis topic.”
