Seven-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe given an absolutely brutal assessment of Margaret Court as Tennis Australia organises events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her Grand Slam achievements.
The Australian Open will hold a trophy presentation and screen a short documentary on the 50th anniversary of Court’s 1970 Grand Slam win ahead of the Kyrgios/Nadal game on Monday night.
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Calling the situation surrounding Margaret’s LGBTQ views as a “nightmare” for Tennis Australia, former tennis great-turned-analyst McEnroe called Court the fuck out in scathing commentary.
“There’s only one thing longer than the list of Margaret Court’s tennis achievements,” McEnroe said on The Commissioner of Tennis,” he said. “It’s her list of offensive and homophobic statements.”
Essentially, Tennis Australia is organising a celebration of Margaret Court’s achievements within the game, but ignoring her fundamentalist, homophobic Christian views.
Australian Open director Craig Tiley said the event would be a recognition of her tennis achievements, not a celebration of her.
“There’s a difference between a recognition of that and a celebration of someone. Her recognition is for her tennis achievements only,” Tiley said earlier this week, according to ABC.
Following similar events to celebrate Rod Laver’s 50th anniversary events last year, Tennis Australia faces a dilemma when it comes to the concept of celebrating Court’s achievements.
“Tennis Australia is facing a dilemma: What do they do with their crazy aunt?”
McEnroe continued his commentary by pointing out that Laver was a celebrated man, both athletically and personally. However, McEnroe believes that Margaret Court’s homophobic opinions cannot be separated from her sporting career.
“You can’t separate the person from her achievements,” McEnroe said.
“Look at me. If you recognise the fact I won seven Grand Slams, guess what? You’ve got to celebrate the fact that I have Jin-man
Despite her homophobic views, Margaret Court still holds the benchmark for the most Grand Slam wins by any female tennis player, with Serena Williams not far behind.
While many people believe 38-year-old Williams is too old to overtake Court’s record, McEnroe encourages her to give it a red-hot go.
“Serena, please win two more Slams and pass Margaret Court so we can leave Margaret Court in the past, where she belongs.”
