MELBOURNE — It was quite a shock to see Margaret Court’s name on the guest list for the second Friday at the Australian Open, which is also Pride Day at Melbourne Park.
It is only a couple of years since Martina Navratilova called her “a homophobe” before carrying, alongside John McEnroe, a homemade banner onto court bearing the words “Evonne Goolagong Arena”.
That was a protest against the continued dedication of the “Margaret Court Arena” to the woman who won 24 grand slam titles between 1960 and 1973, as they urged Tennis Australia to rename it in Goolagong’s honour. Court dismissed the calls for the arena to be renamed as “bullying”. “It’s their way of bullying now because I think Australia is still Judeo-Christian,” she said.
The 82-year-old is now an ordained Pentecostal minster and has repeatedly made anti- LGBT+ comments. She called same-sex marriage “alternative, unhealthy, unnatural unions” when she campaigned against its legalisation in Australia.
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Read MoreShe questioned why former player Casey Dellacqua, who has two children with partner Amanda Judd, had “deprived [a child] of his father”. On other occasions she has complained that “tennis is full of lesbians” and said that “even that LGBT in the schools, it’s the devil”.
Navratilova, who has been married to Julia Lemigova since 2014, complained that Court “goes out of her way to single out a group of people and tell them they don’t deserve equal rights, that they are less than good parents, that they are not godly”.
McEnroe said that “the only thing longer than a list of Margaret Court’s tennis achievements [is] her list of offensive and homophobic statements”.
But in tennis at least, Court’s rhetoric seem to have had the opposite effect to its intended one.
“Margaret Court saying what she said actually pushed Tennis Australia to take a stance and support our community,” Rowen D’Souza, president of the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance (GLTA), tells The i Paper.
The organisation he heads runs the Glam Slam, a three-day tennis event at the Australian Open that welcomes 260 players from more than 30 countries and makes the tournament “truly inclusive”. It starts on Pride Day.
“We really live our values and Tennis Australia really lives our values too,” he adds.
“Everyone is welcome at the Australian Open, which means Margaret Court as well. It’s a bit of a surprise that she’s there [on Pride Day], but she’s welcome. I hope she enjoys the tennis. I genuinely do.”
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Read MoreHer long record of hateful remarks about the LGBT+ community are water off a duck’s back, it seems.
“She’s irrelevant now,” D’Souza says, quick to praise Tennis Australia’s efforts to embrace the community he helps represent. “She can say what she wants.”
And he does not share the view that Melbourne Park organisers need to rename one of their stadiums.
“She is the greatest grand slam player ever, and when she played tennis, it was so tough for women to achieve,” D’Souza adds.
When Navratilova and McEnroe made their unsuccessful protest in 2020, Tennis Australia distanced itself from Court’s personal views and insisted recognition was “for her tennis achievements only”. Rather than take a stance, the organisers of the Australian Open warned Navratilova and McEnroe for “breaking protocol”.
Court meanwhile was not seen at the Australian Open for four years – she says she was very busy and also was not invited – before returning last year.
She has been back at Melbourne Park several times this year, always prominently placed, and will return on Friday for the men’s matches – even though it is Pride Day.
However welcome she may be, Court’s presence at the tournament on this specific day still feels incongruous. As well as the start of the Glam Slam, there will be roving drag queens and kings across the grounds and a “Pride Breakfast” will feature a panel discussion with legendary Olympian Ian Thorpe and other high-profile members of the LGBT+ and sporting community.
Perhaps four years ago, the 24-time grand slam winner’s name would have been the subject of much debate. Now, perhaps her views really are irrelevant.
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