A defiant Margaret Court has returned to the Australian Open for the first time in four years – just days after she was sensationally branded a ‘second-class person’ by a newspaper columnist for her outspoken views.
The controversial Australian tennis legend, 81, and her husband Barrymore were pictured at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday watching the three-set women’s quarter-final between American Coco Gauff and Ukrainian opponent Marta Kostyuk.
It is the first time Court has attended the tournament since 2020, which marked the 50th anniversary of her 1970 title win.
Dressed in a light pink top, she showed little emotion as she sat next to Australian tennis legend Rod Laver and his partner Susan Johnson.
News that she was about to end her long absence from the tournament divided commentators and tennis fans last week.
Court, a conservative Christian, has long been the subject of controversy over comments on LGBTI issues, including the claim that being homosexual is a “choice.”
Margaret Court (right) was among the spectators at the Australian Open on Tuesday afternoon. It is her first appearance at the tournament
Margaret Court (left) sat next to fellow Australian tennis legend Rod Laver (right) and his partner Susan Johnson (centre)
Court is in Melbourne for the final five days of the Grand Slam, where she won 11 singles titles and 12 doubles between 1960 and 1973.
A court in Melbourne Park – Margaret Court Arena – was named after her in 2003.
Court remains the greatest female player of all time with 24 Grand Slam singles titles – a record not broken by either gender.
Novak Djokovic could be on his way to breaking Court’s record on Sunday evening.
The pair are currently tied with 24 titles each.
Now a church pastor, Court has made headlines in recent years for her anti-gay stance. She boldly claimed in 2017 that tennis was “full of lesbians.”
She has also previously labeled gay marriage “a trend”, branded trans women as “problematic” – especially in competitive sports – and said being homosexual is a “choice”.
Margaret Court and her husband Barry attended the quarter-final of the women’s three-set thriller between American Coco Gauff and Ukrainian opponent Marta Kostyuk
Margaret Court (left) looked on alongside Susan Johnson and fellow legend Rod Laver (right)
Margaret Court looked dejected as she arrived at Perth Airport on Monday to fly to Melbourne
Court’s divisive comments sparked a huge backlash from tennis greats and fans who called for a renaming of the Margaret Court Arena.
Legends John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova – who is openly gay – were among those leading the effort to change the court’s name.
American fashion icon Anna Wintour also waded into the saga during a fiery keynote address at an Australian Open event in 2019, where she took a swipe at the court and said intolerance has no place in tennis.
“It is inconsistent for sport that Margaret Court’s name appears in the stadium that does so much to bring all people together across their differences,” she said.
“I think this is obvious to anyone who understands the spirit and fun of the game. Margaret Court was a champion on the pitch, but a meeting place for players of all nations, affiliations and backgrounds should also celebrate someone who was also a champion off it.”
Margaret Court appeared and left Perth with husband Barry on Monday, days after being branded a ‘second-class citizen’ by a newspaper columnist
There was further controversy after she received the highest individual award available at the 2021 Australia Day awards.
Then-Victorian Premier Dan Andrews believed Court was not a worthy recipient because of “disgraceful views on same-sex marriage.”
‘I don’t support that. I don’t believe she should be honored. I’m tired of having the discussion every summer in one form or another,” Andrews said.
“But I’m not handing out those gongs, that’s a matter for others… you might want to talk to them about why they think those views, which are shameful, hurtful and cost lives, should be respected.”
Margaret Court revealed in November 2019 that she did not know whether the 50th anniversary of her historic Australian Open Grand Slam would be honored at the upcoming tournament. She is pictured at the tournament in January 2020, the last time she attended
Margaret Court remains the greatest female player of all time with 24 Grand Slam singles titles
News that Court was set to return to the current tournament sparked a fiery war of words last week after newspaper columnist Justin Smith called her “a second-class citizen.”
“She’s a first-class tennis player, more than first-class, she’s fantastic,” Smith said on Sky News program The Kenny Report.
“I also happen to think she’s a second-rate human being and has caused terrible damage and said terrible things about transgender people and gay marriage, and I think she’s a delusional Jesus freak.”
Host Liz Storer branded Smith’s comments ‘disgusting’, before broadcaster Steve Price intervened.
“Your comments about Margaret Court are simply inconsistent,” Price said angrily.
“The woman is an evangelical pastor in Washington and that is her opinion. If she is entitled to her opinion, that is freedom of speech.’
Smith responded, “She pushed those other people, and I’m just pushing my views on her – why not?”
Margaret Court (right) won eleven singles titles and twelve doubles titles at the Australian Open. She attended on Tuesday – her first appearance at the grand slam since 2020
Court is joined at Melbourne Park this week by fellow homegrown legends Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley.
Goolagong was excited about overtaking her former long-time rival.
“Margaret helped me during my early years (on tour) and when I played in Western Australia I stayed with Margaret and (husband) Barry, and they really looked after me,” Goolagong-Cawley told the Today show last week Channel Nine show.
“I’m looking forward to seeing her, she’s still an old friend.”
There was drama at Margaret Court Arena on Monday night after a woman interrupted the fourth-round match between Alexander Zverev and Cameron Norrie when a woman threw ‘free Palestine’ leaflets onto the pitch during play.
A woman threw leaflets at Margaret Court Arena during the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday