Court, Margaret Jean - Woman - The Australian Women's Register Smith, Margaret (maiden name, 16 July 1942 - 27 October 1967) Summary Margaret Court was one of Australia's greatest sportswomen. She won 62 grand slam titles and, in 1970, was the second woman in history to win the Australian, French, U.S. and Wimbledon titles in a calendar year. Winner of the ABC Sportsman of the Year Award in 1963 and 1970, Margaret Court was appointed to the Order of the British Empire - Member (Civil) on 1 January 1967 for services to sport and international relations. In 1970 she also won the Walter Lindrum Award. In January 2003, Tennis Australia renamed Melbourne Park's Show Court One to the Margaret Court Arena. She was the recipient of the 2003 Australia Post Australian Legends Award, and featured on a special 50c stamp. In 2006 she was awarded the International Tennis Federation's (ITF) highest accolade, the Philippe Chatrier Award.

Details When Margaret Court (née Smith) was thirteen years old Frank Sedgeman, the Australian tennis champion, told her that she was so talented, she could be the first Australian women to win Wimbledon. Eight years later she achieved that goal, and then spent the next decade or so creating tennis records. In 2007, she remains the most prolific winner, male or female, of major championships, having notched up 62 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles between 1960 and 1975, including seven straight Austrlian Championships between 1960-1966. She took the Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. singles titles all within 1970 to become the second female Calendar Year Grand Slam winner at after Maureen Connolly, who achieved the feat in 1953. She is the only player to achieve a Calendar Year Grand Slam in doubles as well as in singles. In purely statistical terms, her nearest all time 'rivals', Martina Navratilova, with 56 majors, and Roy Emerson, heading the men with 28, are a long way behind.

Court has 24 titles in singles alone, three ahead of Steffi Graf when she left the game. Putting this into some contemporary perspective, Roger Federer, with ten grand slam titles and Serena Williams, with eight, still have some work to do if they are going to catch her. As the citation to accompany her 1979 induction in to the International Tennis Hall of Fame reads, 'For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment there has never been a tennis player to match Margaret Smith Court.' Not bad for an ordinary girl from regional Australia. Born in July, 1942, Margaret Smith was, quite literally, a fighter from the moment she drew breath. Her mother nearly died giving birth to her and Margaret was very ill upon arrival. Fortunately, she lived to grow up and go to school in Albury, New South Wales, a regional centre in the state's southeast situated on the Murray River. Her circumstances were not affluent. Her parents owned neither the house they lived in, a very modest, two bedroom, thin-walled, asbestos dwelling with a tin roof that stretched to fit a family of six, nor a car. Margaret was lucky, therefore, that she lived across the road from twenty-four grass tennis courts.

She was also lucky that the coach there, Wally Rutter, spotted her and took the time to nurture her talent. It was Rutter who brought her to the attention of Sedgeman and it was Sedgeman who encouraged her to come to Melbourne so that she could make the most of her potential. At 16 she moved to Melbourne to widen her experience and to receive specialist coaching. In retrospect, she also thinks she was lucky to grow up a tomboy in a neighbourhood full of sports mad boys, with whom she regularly competed. She suggests, however, that it was 'determination to succeed and to be the best' rather than competitiveness that later drove her to succeed. Whatever the motivation, there is no doubt that she became the best, although she never really sat down to measure how good she was until she'd finished playing. She didn't know exactly how many titles she had won until she retired and even then that was only because someone else (English commentator John Barrett) had counted them for her. This is not to say that Margaret was blasé about her success; rather it is an indication of her modesty and source of motivation. She did not do things for the glory and attention but because she always had personal goals.

There were three in particular, throughout the course of her career, that drove her to 'be the best'. The first of them, to be the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon, she met in 1963. The second, to win the Calendar Year Grand Slam (the Wimbledon and the Australian, United States, French Opens all in the one year) eventuated in 1970 and the third, to be the first mum to be number one in the world, she achieved in 1973. She tried coming back after having her second child but says that, at that point, she didn't have a goal, so she knew it was time to give the game up, which she did in 1975. Margaret had natural talent, athleticism and strength; her court coverage was amazing and the power of her serve-volley game set her apart in the women's game. She and one of her early physical instructors, Stan Nicholls, did things differently in order to capitalise upon and enhance her physical strength. She spent a lot of time in the gym lifting weights in an era when very few women did this as a matter of course. But she also attributes the power of her game to her early upbringing.

'As a young girl, I used to train with the men. I practiced with the men all the time and I thought I had to serve-volley, because they wouldn't invite me to play with them if I didn't…I was brought up playing with the men.' Consequently, she developed a style of game that saw her constantly serve-charging the net and, in so doing, introduced change into the women's game. The British, who were unused to their female tennis players being so physically imposing and aggressive on the court, called her the 'Aussie Amazon'. Apart from being strong, her physique gave her other natural advantages. People used to think she was taller than she was (5'9") because she was all arms and legs. (Indeed her International Tennis Hall of Fame still describes her as 'nearly six feet tall'.) In particular, her reach was 'telescopic'; one of her regular opponents, Billie Jean King, called her 'the Arm', because of it. It was like it added extra inches to the length of her racquet.

One can only speculate on how much better she might have been if, as a natural left-hander, she hadn't been trained not to be at school, as was the policy at the time she was growing up. 'Sometimes I wished I had've stayed lefty,' she says. 'I would have had probably a better serve.' At times, it seemed that the only person capable of beating Margaret was Margaret herself. Sometimes she suffered from nerves and was accused, in modern day parlance, of choking, most famously against crowd favourite, Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) in the 1971 Wimbledon final. (Perhaps they might have bit there tongues if they had known she was pregnant with her first child at the time!) Seeded 1 in her first attempt at Wimbledon in 1962, and after having a bye in the first round, she got bundled out in the second round by an unseeded player named Billie Jean Moffitt (later King).

It wasn't one of her greatest days and she remembers phoning home talking to her Mum, who said "I suppose you'll give up tennis now and come home.' On the contrary, she replied, 'No, I'm going to go on to America and I'm going to win everything,' True to her word, she won the U.S. Championship that year, beating Darlene Hard in straight sets. Margaret was consistently excellent in both singles and doubles over the next four-five years, winning 29 grand slam titles in the period 1962-66. Towards the end of 1965, however, she began to get tired of life on the road and, having won all the grand slam events and thinking she had achieved all that she could achieve in tennis, she decided to retire the next year. She moved to Perth, Western Australia and tried something entirely different; she opened a boutique. Travelling had given her a taste for noce clothes and she decided to turn her hobby into a business venture. Perth is also where she met her husband, Barry Court, son of then Premier of Western Australia, Sir Charles Court and brother to the future premier, Richard Court.

This was a family that was very far removed from the tennis world - Barry didn't even know how to score the game and his mother, when introduced to her said 'Oh, that's interesting, you have the same name as the tennis player'. In Perth, for a year or so, Margaret escaped from the world of tennis and refreshed. No struggles with administrators about the quality of accomodation she had to stay in when on tour; no dealing with media outlets curious about her personal life, Margaret enjoyed living life outside the tennis world. She married Barry in 1967 (the same year she was awarded an M.B.E.) and suggested they go overseas - Barry had never left the country and she was keen to share the life she had lead with him. 'Maybe I'll go back and play tennis and you will see where I've come from'. She returned to the game in 1968 and had the best two-season run in history in 1969-70, with seven majors, missing out only at Wimbledon in1969, where she lost in the semis to champion Ann Haydon Jones, 10-12, 6-3, 6-2.

Her new goal, to win the Calendar Year Grand Slam was achieved in 1970. The Wimbledon final she won to achieve that goal, against Billie Jean King, is she says the game 'means more to me than most probably means the most to her.' With an injured ankle, she played two marathon sets (there were no tie-breakers then) to win 11-9, 14-12. She played again in 1971 until she discovered she was pregnant with her first child, Daniel. After he was born, everyone assumed she would give the game away for good. Instead, she decided she had something else to prove; she was going to be the first mother to be number one in the world. Not only did she go on to do this in 1973, she did it in extraordinary style, playing some of the best tennis of her career and winning 24 of 25 tournaments she played. In 1974, her second child, Marika, was born. Court started playing again but her heart wasn't in it and so she retired permanently in 1977 around the same time she learned she was expecting the third of her four children.

When she retired from tennis for good, life took a big turn, initially, not for the best. Brought up a Catholic, she regularly attended church but one day when she was attending a service in France given in French and Latin, she released how disconnected she was from her spiritual self, and how she needed more than the traditional church could offer her. During this period, she suffered from depression and was physically unwell; the world's once fittest woman was weak, fearful and afraid to go to sleep. She experienced a crisis of confidence and a crisis of faith. It wasn't until she began to attend Bible school in the early 1980s that the disparate threads of her life began to mesh again, and Margaret committed herself fully to the Pentacostal Church. In 1991 she was officially ordained to the ministry and a year later she established her own outreach ministry, Margaret Court Ministries Inc. In 1995 she entered into formerly unchartered waters by founding and establishing Victory Life Centre, of which she is the Senior Pastor. With an average Sunday attendance of 1300+ this makes it one of the Perth's largest and dynamic churches.

Recognised as an inspirational speaker as her new career developed, Margaret's tennis achievements were also recognised in a variety of was at this time. In 1993, together with Rod Laver, she was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, the first players to be granted this honour. In 2002 Tennis Australia named the Number 1 Court at Melbourne Park, the home of the Australian Open, 'Margaret Court Arena' , in 2007 she received an Order of Australia. Margaret still plays tennis. 'I know the spiritual side,' she says, 'I need to keep the outer man fit as well. And she still plays hard - she is still very determined. 'I don't think that ever leaves you,' she says. 'I'm a very focused person.' Only now, instead of changing the game of tennis, she's working at 'changing nations'. Margaret Court's Grand Slam Wins: Wimbledon Archival resources National Library of Australia Interview with Margaret Court, tennis player, lay preacher, christian healer and senior minister (sound recording), interviewer, Gail O'Hanlon, 1994, ORAL TRC 3346; National Library of Australia.

Details Published resources The Australian Women's Register Exhibitions Faith, Hope and Charity Australian Women and Imperial Honours: 1901-1989, Australian Women's Archives Project, March 2003, . Details She's Game: Women Making Australian Sporting History, Australian Women's Archives Project, 2007, . Details Smart, Judith and Swain, Shurlee (eds), 'Court, Margaret Jean', The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia, Australian Women's Archives Project, 2 May 2014, . Details Books Court, Margaret, Winning words : the creative power of what you say, Strand Publishing, Sydney, 1999, 155 pp. Details Court, Margaret Smith, 1942-, Court on Court : a life in tennis, Allen & Unwin, London, 1976, 211 pp. Details Oldfield, Barbara, A winning faith : the Margaret Court story, Sovereign World, Kent, England, c1993, 126 pp.

Details Journal Articles Williams, Sue, 'All-time Australian tennis great Margaret Court found her true from serving Jesus', The Australian Women's Weekly, February 2003, 2003, p. 240. Details Newspaper Articles Talking Heads, Peter Thompson with Margaret Court, 2006-10-30, . Details 'Court, Margaret (1942-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, . Details See also Brasch, Nicolas, Great Australian Women in Sport, Heinemann, Port Melbourne (Vic.), 1997, 32 pp. Details Herd, Margaret (ed.), Who's Who in Australia 2002, 38 edn, Crown Content, Melbourne, 2002, 2020 pp. Details Popham, Daphne; Stokes, K.A.; Lewis, Julie, Reflections : profiles of 150 women who helped make Western Australia's history; Project of the Womens Committee for the 150th Anniversary Celebrations of Western Australia, Carrolls, Perth, Melbourne [etc.]:, 1979, 266 pp.

Details Shepherd, Jim, Encyclopedia of Australia Sport, Rigby Publishers, 1980, 471 pp.

Details Digital resources Players | WTA Tennis English No videos found 0 ò Accumulated 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 19 doubles and 19 mixed; holds all-time records for most Grand Slam singles titles (24), mixed doubles titles (19) and total titles (62) ò In 1970, became second woman in tennis to achieve the Grand Slam - Australian, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and United States singles titles in the same calendar year; at Roland Garros, trailed Olga Morozova 6-3, 5-2 and suffered from leg cramps before coming back; injured ankle during Wimbledon, so rushed the net as much as possible in defeating Billie Jean King in final; also is the only player to achieve a Grand Slam in both singles and mixed doubles, winning all four mixed titles with Ken Fletcher in 1963 ò In four years, 1962, 65, 69 and 73, won three of the four Grand Slams; only Wimbledon eluded her in 1962, 69 and 73, and Roland Garros in 1965 ò In the 197

0 Wimbledon final, defeated Billie Jean King 14-12, 11-9; the 46 games in the match and 26-game first set are both Wimbledon finals records ò One of three women to accomplish Triple Crowns (Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles) at the 1963 Australian and 1970 US Open (King and Navratilova are the others) ò Won the Australian Open a record 11 times ò Never seeded lower than No.

2 at Wimbledon; first appearance was in 1961 ò Lost to Bobby Riggs 6-2, 6-1 on Mother's Day in 1973 in an exhibition match SINGLES Winner (92 Open Era): 1968 - Hurlingham, Manchester, Beckenham, Irish Open, Hoylake, Dutch Open, Berkeley, Dewar-Stalybridge, Dewar-Perth, Dewar-Aberavon, Dewar-Torquay, Queen's Covered Court Champs, Dewar Cup Finals-London; 1969 - Australian Open , Roland Garros , US Open , Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Caracas, San Juan, Charlotte, Houston, Bournemouth, Hurlingham, Bristol, Newport-Wales, Frinton, Rock Invitation-NY, Merion GC Champs-Philadelphia, US Champs-Boston, Berkeley; 1970 - Australian Open , Roland Garros , Wimbledon , US Open , Perth, Hobart, Victorian Open-Melbourne, ITPA Philadelphia, Vanderbilt-New York, Dallas, South African Open, Sutton, Bournemouth, Guildford, Bristol, Queen's London Champs, Frinton, Budapest International

, Dutch Open, Merion Grass Champs-Pennsylvania, Canadian Open; 1971 - Australian Open , Sydney, Perth, Auckland, Durban, South African Open, Hurlingham, Bournemouth, Queen's London GC Champs, Irish Open; 1972 - Western Champs [Cincinatti], VS Newport [RI], VS Oakland, Dewar-Edinburgh, Dewar-Glasgow, Dewar-Birmingham, Dewar-Manchester, Dewar-London, Perth, Sydney; 1973 - Australian Open , Roland Garros , US Open , BMC Oakland, BMC Los Angeles, Washington DC, Miami Indoors, VS Detroit, Chicago, Richmond, Philadelphia, Boston, Jacksonville, Irish Open, Nashville, Allaire [NJ], Newport [RI], World Invitational-Sea Pines; 1974 - West Australian Champs [Perth]; 1975 - Chicago; 1976 - Toyota-Melbourne.

DOUBLES Winner (48 Open Era): 1976 - Melbourne (w/Stove); 1975 - US Open (w/Wade), Bridgestone Doubles (w/Wade); 1973 - Australian Open (w/Wade), Roland Garros (w/Wade), US Open (w/Wade); 1971 - Australian Open (w/Goolagong), South African Open (w/Goolagong); 1970 - Australian Open (w/Dalton), Wimbledon (w/Dalton), Melbourne (w/Dalton), Sydney (w/Dalton), Frinton (w/Lloyd), Eastbourne (w/Tegart); 1969 - Perth (w/Tegart), Melbourne (w/Tegart), Sydney (w/Tegart), Brisbane (w/Tegart); 1968 - US Open (w/Bueno), Rome (w/Wade), Manchester (w/Bueno), Berkeley (w/Bueno), Beckenham (w/Bueno), West Kirby (w/Wade), Perth (w/Walkden), Aberavon (w/Walkden), London I (w/Walkden

).

MIXED DOUBLES Winner (19 Open Era): 1975 - US Open ; 1974 - South Africian Open (w/Riessen); 1972 - US Open (w/Riessen); 1971 - South African Open (w/Stolle); 1970 - US Open (w/Ralston), South Africian Open (w/Riessen); 1969 - Roland Garros (w/Riessen), US Open (w/Riessen); 1968 - Rome (wRiessen), Berkeley (w/Smith), West Kensington (w/Smith).

Overall Stats Tennis – ‘the golden age’ of the 1960s–70s and beyond | australia.gov.au Tennis – ‘the golden age’ of the 1960s–70s and beyond Tennis – ‘the golden age’ of the 1960s–70s and beyond Mark Woodforde, Doubles Champion 1989–2000 Australians dominated world tennis in the 1950s and 1960s in major events known as Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian, French and United States Open, and Wimbledon in the UK. This period was known as the ‘golden age’ of Australian tennis. In the 1960s, men's tennis open titles were dominated by six Australian men: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Ken Rosewall, and Fred Stolle. Between 1961 and 1970, Australian men's tennis champions won at least one Open Singles title every year at either Wimbledon or the French or US Opens, as well as the Australian Open titles.

In men's tennis, the golden age culminated in 1969 with Rod Laver's second Grand Slam win, as well as four major titles in the same year. Margaret Court, courtesy of Australian Open In 1970, Margaret Court also completed the Grand Slam. Court is one of only three women ever to win four international tennis open titles in one year. Indigenous player Evonne Goolagong Cawley was also a strong force in women's tennis in Australia in the 1970s with wins at Wimbledon, the French and the Australian Opens. The ‘golden age’ for Australian tennis players declined from 1969 when amateur players were joined by professionals. Also by the 1980s, the Australian Open synchronised its dates to begin in January in line with the European, UK and USA players events schedule, which greatly widened the pool of players. Yet even following the decline of Australia's dominance in the Grand Slam tournaments, tennis remained popular in urban areas and the Australian Open grows in popularity as a spectator sport.

Early tennis development 1900s–1950s The golden age of Australian tennis was built on the early successes of both men's and women's tennis with Grand Slam tournament winners: Norman Brookes in the 1900s to 1919, Jack Crawford in the early 1930s, and Harry Hopman from 1929–39. This was in tandem with the consistent wins and popularity of women's tennis from the 1920s to the 1950s. Daphne Akhurst reached the Wimbledon final in 1925 and won the Doubles in 1928. From the1930s to the 1950s, Nancy Bolton got to the USA Singles Open and won other titles with her doubles partner, Thelma Long. Bolton was ranked No.4 in 1947 and stayed in that position until 1949. This series of wins in the amateur Grand Slam tournament titles of the 1940s and 1950s was made possible by extensive community and industry support, and investment in the development and administration of amateur tennis players.

Harry Hopman, courtesy of Australian Open Harry Hopman was a captain turned coach of 22 Australian Davis Cup teams between 1939 and 1967. As coach Hopman guided Australian male tennis players to 15 Davis Cup victories in 20 years. Ken Rosewall, Frank Sedgeman, John Bromwich, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Lew Hoad and Margaret Smith Court were all either trained by Harry Hopman or managed by Nell Hopman. ( The Hopman Era: Australia on the Rise) Amateurs, tennis community and industry in the 1960s By 1969 the game started to change. Professional players were invited to join the amateurs at the Grand Slam tournaments and prize money was offered for the first time, different tennis court surfaces and different game strategies emerged, and metal racquets were introduced. Professional versus amateur In 1969, the Australian Open Championships became 'open' to amateurs and professionals. This followed in the footsteps of the French Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, UK, and the USA Open. Rod Laver returned to win his second grand slam in 1969.

The advantages to amateur Australian champions who had enjoyed the riches of the Davis Cup endorsements soon disappeared with the advent of ‘open’ tennis. The end of the golden age was seen in the average age of the Davis Cup team, which was 35 years. It was another 18 years until Pat Cash, another Australian man, won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987. Balls and tennis racquet with carbon fiber reinforced polymer frame Different surfaces – different game strategies, racquet evolution Different surfaces require different game strategies, maintenance and care. Tennis was originally played on grass courts but in the 1970s many other surfaces were common. These included dried cow faeces (mainly in India), wood, synthetic carpets, anthill grit (in Australia), concrete, crushed brick, clay, asphalt, canvas, rebound ace and plexicusion, to name just a few. In the 1960s and 1970s metal racquets were introduced. The next step in the evolution of the tennis racquet came with a material called graphite, which made the racquet lighter and stiffer.

Soon after, a number of new materials were being used in racquets, including Kevlar, ceramic, and titanium. Prize pool changes It wasn't until the' introduction of truly ‘open’ tennis in 1968 that players were paid for their efforts on court. Prize money for singles titles has changed dramatically. In 1969 the Australian Open offered $4,500 (AUD) to the winning man and $1,750 (AUD) to the winning woman. The largest prize pool at this time was the US Open with the man taking home $15,068 (AUD) and the winning woman getting $6,457 (AUD). However this is a small amount compared to prize money in more recent times. In 2009 both the winning man and woman at the Australian Open received $2,000,000 (AUD). This was also the highest amount given at the four Grand Slams that year.

The 'golden age' of men's tennis – the 1960s In the 1960s, men's tennis open titles were dominated by six Australian men: Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Tony Roche. Ken Rosewall, and Fred Stolle. Between 1961 and 1970, Australian men's tennis champions won at least one Open Singles title every year at either Wimbledon, the French or US Opens, as well as the Australian Open titles. Roy Emerson, champion 1959–71 Roy Emerson was Australian Singles champion in 1961 and then five consecutive times between 1963 and 1967. Emerson also won the men's singles titles in the French, US and Wimbledon Opens, winning each of them twice between 1963 and 1967. His feats in doubles champions were extraordinary. Emerson won three Australian Open titles, five consecutive French titles from 1960 to 1965, four US titles between 1959 and 1966, and three Wimbledon titles between 1959 and 1971.

Emerson came close to completing the Grand Slam in 1964 but fell in the French quarterfinals. Emerson played in eight winning Davis Cup teams, which was an incredible achievement. Ken Rosewall, champion 1953–1972 Ken Rosewall, Courtesy of Australian Open Ken Rosewall was a great singles champion, winning eight open titles between 1953 and 1972, Australian, French and US. He was one of the finest players to not win Wimbledon singles. Rosewall also won nine doubles champion titles, a total of 17 major titles, and achieved a career doubles Grand Slam. Rosewall, ‘Muscles’ to his friends, continued his tennis career into his 40s. Ken Rosewall is known as one of Australia's greatest tennis players. When he was 17 years of age, Ken was selected to play for the Australian Davis Cup team, travelling with Davis Cup captain and coach Hary Hopman. This kick-started his career playing amateur, professional and open tennis.

In 1953 he won his first Grand Slam title in the Australian Open Singles tournament and then went on to win 17 more titles during his career of over 30 years. Fred Stolle, champion 1961–69 Fred Stolle won the French and US Opens in 1965 and 1956 respectively and was runner-up at Wimbledon three times (1963, 1964 and 1965) and twice at the Australian championships (1964 and 1965). Yet, Stolle won all four doubles opens, winning 15 titles from 1961 to 1969. Tall and competitive, Fred Stolle was known for his powerful serve, accurate volleys and fluid backhand. Rod Laver, Grand Slam winner 1961 and 1969, and champion 1959–71 Rod Laver, no source Rod Laver became the only Australian to win the Grand Slam twice in 1962 and 1969. Laver dominated Australian men's tennis in the 1960s although his competitors in Australia were also world champions.

Laver won Wimbledon Singles titles four times – in 1961 and 1962 and in 1968 and 1969, the Australian Open three times, and the French and the United States Open twice each. Laver was Australian doubles champion four times, as well as winning at the French and Wimbledon titles. Dubbed ‘Rocket’ Rod Laver by then Davis Cup captain Harry Hopman, Laver ‘was a powerful left-hander who sent the ball hurtling over the net laden with topspin’. Laver was a driven competitor whose attacking play won him many titles, winning 17 of his 20 titles in this decade. Laver racked up a formidable 20-4 win-loss record in Davis Cup ties and was part of five winning teams during his career. In January 2000, centre court at Melbourne Park was named Rod Laver Arena in honour of Laver's achievements. 1969 Australian Open, Brisbane – Rod Laver and Margaret Court The tournament was contested on Milton's grass courts in Brisbane between a men's field of 48 and a women's field of 32.

Rod Laver's semifinal victory over Tony Roche was played in 105-degree heat. Their contest dragged on for more than four hours, 7-5 22-20 9-11 1-6 6-3, both players putting wet cabbage leaves in their hats to help them keep cool. Laver went on to win the title, defeating Andres Gimeno of Spain 6-3 6-4 7-5, claiming $5,000 in prize money and the first leg of his second Grand Slam. Margaret Smith Court beat Billie Jean King 6-4 6-1 to take the $1,500 prize. Australian Open History, 1969) 1970–75 – Australian Open men's draw depleted of players In 1970 the Australian Open men's draw was depleted by the absence of Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andres Gimeno, Pancho Gonzales, Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle. They were all professional players signed to a tour-specific contract with the National Tennis League and ‘they were banned from entering the Australian Open because the tournament's financial guarantees were deemed too low’.

It was in this field, or lack of it, that Arthur Ashe became the first non-Australian to win the title since 1959. Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong by Ern McQuillan,1971. Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery. In 1972, the gulf between professional players and amateurs widened with a dispute between the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) and World Championship Tennis (WCT) which impacted on players in events between January and July 1972. In a bid to subvert the ban, Australian Open organisers started their tournament on December 27. However, the December dates did nothing to attract European players who boycotted the Australian Open for another decade because of the clash with Christmas. In 1973 there was only marginal competition from overseas players. Nine of 12 men's seeds were Australian with no.1 seed and defending champion Ken Rosewall losing in the second round to Karl Meiler of Germany. On the women's side all but three of the 12 seeds were Australians.

The Australian Open's timing, slap-bang in the middle of the holiday season, was a continued bone of contention with international players, the legendary Bjorn Borg boycotting the tournament saying, ‘I was trying to make a statement. My point was that a player requires some time to himself. He can't keep rushing from one court to another all the time without a break.‘ Australian Open, history, 1973 John Newcombe (right) with American Jimmy Connors, 1974, Australian Open, Courtesy Courier Mail Australian players like John Newcombe also objected to the event date in the December Christmas period. In 1975, Newcombe ranked as no 2, only entered at the last minute on hearing that the American Jimmy Connors, ranked as no.1, would be making the trip. It was the first Australian Open match televised in America, on CBS, and was Connors' last competitive match in Australia. Newcombe won 7-5 3-6 6-4 7-6.

John Newcombe, champion 1965–75 John Newcombe is best remembered for his 12 doubles open titles with Tony Roche, which was more than any other men's team in tennis history. Newcombe also won the singles open titles in 1973–75, Wimbledon in 1967, 1970–71, and the US in 1967 and 1973, winning all bar the French title. As a player, John Newcombe was strong, athletic and a great competitor. His serve, volley and forehand were his most formidable weapons and he used them to devastating effect. Tony Roche, Champion 1965–74, Courtesy of Australian Open Tony Roche, champion 1965–74 Tony Roche (b. 1945) enjoyed startling success on the doubles court with his long-time partner John Newcombe. Between 1965 and 1974 the pair snared 12 major doubles titles together, including five Wimbledon championships, four Australian and two French Open titles, and one US Open title.

Roche possessed a difficult left-hand serve and was skilled in attacking his opponent with volleys. These skills helped him claim the 1966 French title, which was his only major singles win. He finished runner-up in the single titles on several occasions – twice at the French (1965 and 1967), twice in the United States (1969 and 1970), and once at Wimbledon (1968). After retiring, Roche became a successful coach and has mentored world no.1 players including Ivan Lendl, Patrick Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, and Roger Federer. Women's tennis Women players made their marks in the 1960s and 1970s. Lesley Bowrey won 13 major titles between 1961 and 1967. After Margaret Court completed the Grand Slam in 1971, Evonne Goolagong Cawley dominated women's tennis in Australia in the 1970s winning the Wimbledon Singles title and the French Open in 1971, followed by four consecutive Australian Singles titles from 1974 to 1977.

Lesley Bowrey, champion 1961–67 Lesley Bowrey. Courtesy of Australian Open Lesley Bowrey (b. 1942) from Trangie, NSW was the first Australian women to win two French Open Singles titles, in 1963 and 1964. Overall Bowery won 13 major titles including seven international doubles – the Australian, French, Wimbledon and the United States Open titles – as well as four mixed doubles champions in Australian Open and at Wimbledon between 1961 and 1967. She was a runner-up on 14 occasions in Grand Slam tournaments. Bowrey participated in the inaugural Federation Cup competition in 1963 and went on to captain Australia's Federation Cup team between 1994 and 2000. Margaret Court, Grand Slam, 1970 and champion 1960–75 Margaret Court nee Smith (b. 1942) is Australia's most successful women's tennis player on the world circuit. Court was dubbed ‘The Arm’ by Billie Jean King. Court amassed a list of tournament wins that is yet to be rivalled.

She won: the Australian Singles champion ten times, the French Open Singles four times, the United States Open five times; and, Wimbledon three times. Altogether, Margaret Court collected 62 major titles in singles, doubles and mixed. Her closest rival is Martina Navratilova with 56 titles. A strong player known for her heavy ground strokes and powerful serve, she was the world's number one seeded player three times – in 1969, 1970 and 1973. In 1970, Margaret Court completed the Grand Slam, winning four international tennis open titles in one year. Court is one of only three women ever to complete this feat. Evonne Goolagong Cawley, champion 1971–80 Evonne Goolagong, 1971, courtesy of Australian Open Evonne Goolagong Cawley (b. 1951) dominated women's tennis in Australia in the 1970s with four consecutive Australian Singles titles from 1974 to 1977.

Prior to this Goolagong Cawley won the Wimbledon Singles title in 1971, as well as the French Open in the same year and, the Wimbledon Singles again in 1980. Goolagong Cawley was ranked in the top 10 for nine years and climbed to the top of the rankings for one week in 1976. Goolagong was a poster girl for aspiring country players in the 1970s, a darling of the circuit with a song written about her achievements and popularity. A player renowned for her grace and speed around the court, Goolagong Cawley started playing as a young girl by hitting a ball against a wall with the paling from an apple crate board. Goolagong Cawley came close to completing a career Grand Slam in 1971 with a doubles win in the Australian Open but, the US Open title eluded her. Wendy Turnbull, champion 1978–82 Wendy Turnbull (b.

1952) made the final of every Open except Wimbledon, achieving a top 10 year-end world ranking for eight consecutive years (1977–1984) and a year-end top 20 ranking for 10 straight years (1977–1986). Turnbull's Open titles were in Doubles – Wimbledon (1978), the French (1979), and the US (1979 and 1982). She was also the Mixed Doubles champion five times across the French, Wimbledon and US titles between 1979 and 1980. Turnbull was renowned for her foot speed around the court. Australian Open 1980s–90s: a set venue and date but controversies Davis Cup final at Kooyong, 1986. Courtesy of Herald Weekly Times Image Library Whilst Melbourne's Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club had been the Australian Open's 'permanent' home since 1972, by 1980 there were suggestions that the Australian Open no longer deserved its 'big four' status.

This was fuelled by the absence of Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe who had won the previous three Slams between them and who were indisputably the top two players in the world. It was not until 1986 that organisers decided to move the tournament away from the Christmas/New Year period, scheduling it in a new, permanent timeslot in January, hoping to attract international players. In 1988 the Australian Open was held in a new modern Melbourne Park Tennis Centre, constructed with hard courts and a unique retractable roof over the centre court. However in 1995, the centre court's sliding roof was no match for Melbourne's weather, and rainfall during the Agassi – Aaron Krickstein semifinal flooded the arena, turning the stands into waterfalls. In 1996, the Australian Open benefitted from a facilities upgrade that effectively doubled the size of the venue. An investment of $23 million bought two new show courts, one seating 3,000 the other seating 800, and eight new Rebound Ace courts. The Centre Court was renamed the Rod Laver Arena.

Pat Cash, champion 1987 Pat Cash in action during the 1986 Davis Cup final at Kooyong. Courtesy of Herald Weekly Times Image Library Pat Cash (b. 1965) won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987 and made the final of the Australian Open twice in 1987 and 1988. Cash was renowned for his serves and volleys and his best games were played on grass. Sportsmanship controversies – Cash pelted and McEnroe (USA) disqualified Two issues, the truly open nature of sport and sportsmanship came to the fore in 1987 and 1990 at the Australian Open. The open nature of sport, of having open selection trials and selecting representative teams, was an issue for international competition. In South Africa, the apartheid policies of the government and the sporting bodies deliberately excluded South Africa's non-white people from participating in representative sport.

(ANC, International Boycott of Apartheid Sport, 25 May 1971, With special reference to the campaigns in Britain by the Anti-Apartheid Movement, Paper prepared for the United Nations Unit on Apartheid in 1971) Since the 1960s, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and internationally had campaigned to boycott international players and teams from participating in South African sports events until the government and sports administrators permitted open selection trails, mixed sports games and access to facilities. At the 1987 Australian Open, Australian Pat Cash was the reigning South African Open champion. Cash … was booed by banner-wielding anti-apartheid protesters and pelted with black tennis balls at the seventh-game change of end. … Cash shrugged off the distraction to reach the final for a second consecutive year. He lost to Mats Wilander in a 6-3 6-7(3) 3-6 6-1 8-6 epic regarded as the best Slam decider of the season. Australian Open, History, 1987 McEnroe disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, 1990.

Australian Open, still Good sportsmanship is the 'golden rule' of sports. It means treating the people you play with and against as you'd like to be treated yourself. Good sportsmanship is seen to be demonstrated when players show respect for themselves, their teammates, and their opponents, for the coaches on both sides, and for the referees, judges, and other officials. Being polite, courteous and not losing tempers on the court is part of the practice of ‘good sportsmanship’. (What is sportsmanship?, Greater Brisbane Junior Tennis) The question of what is acceptable sportsmanship was tested when John McEnroe (USA) disagreed with and swore at the umpire at the 1990 Australian Open. McEnroe was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, verbal abuse and tennis code violation. (McEnroe defaulted at Australian Open 1990) In 1990 … umpire Gerry Armstrong and chief supervisor Ken Farrar putting a rocket under John McEnroe in his fourth round match, disqualifying him for unsportsmanlike conduct under the new ‘three strikes you're out’ rule.

Australian Open, History, 1990 She's Game: Women Making Australian Sporting History - Margaret Court Women Making Australian Sporting History Margaret Court More information about Margaret Court can be found in the AWAP register. When Margaret Court (née Smith) was thirteen years old Frank Sedgeman, the Australian tennis champion, told her that she was so talented, she could be the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon. Eight years later she achieved that goal, and then spent the next decade or so creating tennis records. In 2007, she remains the most prolific winner, male or female, of major championships, having notched up 62 titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles between 1960 and 1975, including seven straight Australian Championships between 1960 and 1966. She took the Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. singles titles all within 1970 to become the second female Calendar Year Grand Slam winner after Maureen Connolly, who achieved the feat in 1953. She is the only player to achieve a Calendar Year Grand Slam in doubles as well as in singles.

In purely statistical terms, her nearest all time 'rivals', Martina Navratilova, with 56 majors, and Roy Emerson, heading the men with 28, are a long way behind. Court has 24 titles in singles alone, three ahead of Steffi Graf when she left the game. Putting this into some contemporary perspective, Roger Federer, with ten grand slam titles and Serena Williams, with eight, still have some work to do if they are going to catch her. As the citation to accompany her 1979 induction in to the International Tennis Hall of Fame reads, 'For sheer strength of performance and accomplishment there has never been a tennis player to match Margaret Smith Court.' Not bad for an ordinary girl from regional Australia. Born in July, 1942, Margaret Smith was, quite literally, a fighter from the moment she drew breath. Her mother nearly died giving birth to her and Margaret was very ill upon arrival. Fortunately, she lived to grow up and go to school in Albury, New South Wales, a regional centre in the state's southeast, situated on the Murray River. Her circumstances were not affluent.

Her parents owned neither the house they lived in, a very modest, two bedroom, thin-walled, asbestos dwelling with a tin roof that stretched to fit a family of six, nor a car. Margaret was lucky, therefore, that she lived across the road from twenty-four grass tennis courts. She was also lucky that the coach there, Wally Rutter, spotted her and took the time to nurture her talent. It was Rutter who brought her to the attention of Sedgeman and it was Sedgeman who encouraged her to come to Melbourne so that she could make the most of her potential. At 16 she moved to Melbourne to widen her experience and to receive specialist coaching. In retrospect, she also thinks she was lucky to grow up a tomboy in a neighbourhood full of sports mad boys, with whom she regularly competed. She suggests, however, that it was 'determination to succeed and to be the best' rather than competitiveness that later drove her to succeed. Whatever the motivation, there is no doubt that she became the best, although she never really sat down to measure how good she was until she'd finished playing.

She didn't know exactly how many titles she had won until she retired and even then that was only because someone else (English commentator John Barrett) had counted them for her. This is not to say that Margaret was blasé about her success; rather it is an indication of her modesty and source of motivation. She did not do things for the glory and attention but because she always had personal goals. There were three in particular, throughout the course of her career, that drove her to 'be the best'. The first of them, to be the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon, she met in 1963. The second, to win the Calendar Year Grand Slam (the Wimbledon and the Australian, United States, French Opens all in the one year) eventuated in 1970 and the third, to be the first mum to be number one in the world, she achieved in 1973. She tried coming back after having her second child but says that, at that point, she didn't have a goal, so she knew it was time to give the game up, which she did in 1975.

Margaret had natural talent, athleticism and strength; her court coverage was amazing and the power of her serve-volley game set her apart in the women's game. She and one of her early physical instructors, Stan Nicholls, did things differently in order to capitalise upon and enhance her physical strength. She spent a lot of time in the gym lifting weights in an era when very few women did this as a matter of course. But she also attributes the power of her game to her early upbringing. 'As a young girl, I used to train with the men. I practiced with the men all the time and I thought I had to serve-volley, because they wouldn't invite me to play with them if I didn't…I was brought up playing with the men.' Consequently, she developed a style of game that saw her constantly serve-charging the net and, in so doing, introduced change into the women's game. The British, who were unused to their female tennis players being so physically imposing and aggressive on the court, called her the 'Aussie Amazon'. Apart from being strong, her physique gave her other natural advantages. People used to think she was taller than she was (5'9") because she was all arms and legs.

(Indeed her International Tennis Hall of Fame still describes her as 'nearly six feet tall'.) In particular, her reach was 'telescopic'; one of her regular opponents, Billie Jean King, called her 'the Arm', because of it. It was like it added extra inches to the length of her racquet. One can only speculate on how much better she might have been if, as a natural left-hander, she hadn't been trained not to be at school, as was the policy at the time she was growing up. 'Sometimes I wished I had've stayed lefty,' she says. 'I would have had probably a better serve.' At times, it seemed that the only person capable of beating Margaret was Margaret herself. Sometimes she suffered from nerves and was accused, in modern day parlance, of choking, most famously against crowd favourite, Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) in the 1971 Wimbledon final.

(Perhaps they might have bitten their tongues if they had known she was pregnant with her first child at the time!) Seeded 1 in her first attempt at Wimbledon in 1962, and after having a bye in the first round, she got bundled out in the second round by an unseeded player named Billie Jean Moffitt (later King). It wasn't one of her greatest days and she remembers phoning home talking to her Mum, who said 'I suppose you'll give up tennis now and come home.' On the contrary, she replied, 'No, I'm going to go on to America and I'm going to win everything,' True to her word, she won the U.S. Championship that year, beating Darlene Hard in straight sets. Margaret was consistently excellent in both singles and doubles over the next four-five years, winning 29 grand slam titles in the period 1962-66. Towards the end of 1965, however, she began to get tired of life on the road and, having won all the grand slam events and thinking she had achieved all that she could achieve in tennis, she decided to retire the next year.

She moved to Perth, Western Australia and tried something entirely different; she opened a boutique. Travelling had given her a taste for nice clothes and she decided to turn her hobby into a business venture. Perth is also where she met her husband, Barry Court, son of then Premier of Western Australia, Sir Charles Court and brother to the future premier, Richard Court. This was a family that was very far removed from the tennis world - Barry didn't even know how to score the game and his mother, when introduced to her said 'Oh, that's interesting, you have the same name as the tennis player'. In Perth, for a year or so, Margaret escaped from the world of tennis and freshened up. No struggles with administrators about the quality of accomodation she had to stay in when on tour; no dealing with media outlets curious about her personal life, Margaret enjoyed living life outside the tennis world. She married Barry in 1967 (the same year she was awarded an M.B.E.) and suggested they go overseas - Barry had never left the country and she was keen to share the life she had lead with him. 'Maybe I'll go back and play tennis and you will see where I've come from'.

She returned to the game in 1968 and had the best two-season run in history in 1969-70, with seven majors, missing out only at Wimbledon in1969, where she lost in the semis to champion Ann Haydon Jones, 10-12, 6-3, 6-2. Her new goal, to win the Calendar Year Grand Slam was achieved in 1970. The Wimbledon final she won to achieve that goal, against Billie Jean King, is she says the game 'means more to me than most'. With an injured ankle, she played two marathon sets (there were no tie-breakers then) to win 11-9, 14-12. She played again in 1971 until she discovered she was pregnant with her first child, Daniel. After he was born, everyone assumed she would give the game away for good. Instead, she decided she had something else to prove; she was going to be the first mother to be number one in the world.

Not only did she go on to do this in 1973, she did it in extraordinary style, playing some of the best tennis of her career and winning 24 of 25 tournaments she played. In 1974, her second child, Marika, was born. Court started playing again but her heart wasn't in it and so she retired permanently in 1977 around the same time she learned she was expecting the third of her four children. When she retired from tennis for good, life took a big turn, initially, not for the best. Brought up a Catholic, she regularly attended church but one day when she was attending a service in France given in French and Latin, she released how disconnected she was from her spiritual self, and how she needed more than the traditional church could offer her. During this period, she suffered from depression and was physically unwell; the world's once fittest woman was weak, fearful and afraid to go to sleep. She experienced a crisis of confidence and a crisis of faith.

It wasn't until she began to attend Bible school in the early 1980s that the disparate threads of her life began to mesh again, and Margaret committed herself fully to the Pentacostal Church. In 1991 she was officially ordained to the ministry and a year later she established her own outreach ministry, Margaret Court Ministries Inc. In 1995 she entered into formerly unchartered waters by founding and establishing Victory Life Centre, of which she is the Senior Pastor. With an average Sunday attendance of 1300+ this makes it one of the Perth's largest and dynamic churches. Recognised as an inspirational speaker as her new career developed, Margaret's tennis achievements were also recognised in a variety of ways at this time. In 1993, together with Rod Laver, she was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, the first players to be granted this honour. In 2002 Tennis Australia named the Number 1 Court at Melbourne Park, the home of the Australian Open, 'Margaret Court Arena'.

In 2006 she was awarded the International Tennis Federation's (ITF) highest accolade, the Philippe Chatrier Award and in 2007 she received an Order of Australia. Margaret still plays tennis. 'I know the spiritual side,' she says, 'I need to keep the outer man fit as well.' And she still plays hard - she is still very determined. 'I don't think that ever leaves you,' she says. 'I'm a very focused person.' Only now, instead of changing the game of tennis, she's working at 'changing nations'. Image Mrs Court serving in Women's singles against Miss L.

Hunt Image Courtesy of the National Archives of Australia © Australian Women's Archives Project, 2007 Players | WTA Tennis English No videos found 0 ò Accumulated 24 Grand Slam singles titles, 19 doubles and 19 mixed; holds all-time records for most Grand Slam singles titles (24), mixed doubles titles (19) and total titles (62) ò In 1970, became second woman in tennis to achieve the Grand Slam - Australian, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and United States singles titles in the same calendar year; at Roland Garros, trailed Olga Morozova 6-3, 5-2 and suffered from leg cramps before coming back; injured ankle during Wimbledon, so rushed the net as much as possible in defeating Billie Jean King in final; also is the only player to achieve a Grand Slam in both singles and mixed doubles, winning all four mixed titles with Ken Fletcher in 1963 ò In four years, 1962, 65, 69 and 73, won three of the four Grand Slams; only Wimbledon eluded her in 1962, 69 and 73

, and Roland Garros in 1965 ò In the 1970 Wimbledon final, defeated Billie Jean King 14-12, 11-9; the 46 games in the match and 26-game first set are both Wimbledon finals records ò One of three women to accomplish Triple Crowns (Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles) at the 1963 Australian and 1970 US Open (King and Navratilova are the others) ò Won the Australian Open a record 11 times ò Never seeded lower than No.

2 at Wimbledon; first appearance was in 1961 ò Lost to Bobby Riggs 6-2, 6-1 on Mother's Day in 1973 in an exhibition match SINGLES Winner (92 Open Era): 1968 - Hurlingham, Manchester, Beckenham, Irish Open, Hoylake, Dutch Open, Berkeley, Dewar-Stalybridge, Dewar-Perth, Dewar-Aberavon, Dewar-Torquay, Queen's Covered Court Champs, Dewar Cup Finals-London; 1969 - Australian Open , Roland Garros , US Open , Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Caracas, San Juan, Charlotte, Houston, Bournemouth, Hurlingham, Bristol, Newport-Wales, Frinton, Rock Invitation-NY, Merion GC Champs-Philadelphia, US Champs-Boston, Berkeley; 1970 - Australian Open , Roland Garros , Wimbledon , US Open , Perth, Hobart, Victorian Open-Melbourne, ITPA Philadelphia, Vanderbilt-New York, Dallas, South African Open, Sutton, Bournemouth, Guildford, Bristol, Queen's London Champs, Frinton, Budapest International

, Dutch Open, Merion Grass Champs-Pennsylvania, Canadian Open; 1971 - Australian Open , Sydney, Perth, Auckland, Durban, South African Open, Hurlingham, Bournemouth, Queen's London GC Champs, Irish Open; 1972 - Western Champs [Cincinatti], VS Newport [RI], VS Oakland, Dewar-Edinburgh, Dewar-Glasgow, Dewar-Birmingham, Dewar-Manchester, Dewar-London, Perth, Sydney; 1973 - Australian Open , Roland Garros , US Open , BMC Oakland, BMC Los Angeles, Washington DC, Miami Indoors, VS Detroit, Chicago, Richmond, Philadelphia, Boston, Jacksonville, Irish Open, Nashville, Allaire [NJ], Newport [RI], World Invitational-Sea Pines; 1974 - West Australian Champs [Perth]; 1975 - Chicago; 1976 - Toyota-Melbourne.

DOUBLES Winner (48 Open Era): 1976 - Melbourne (w/Stove); 1975 - US Open (w/Wade), Bridgestone Doubles (w/Wade); 1973 - Australian Open (w/Wade), Roland Garros (w/Wade), US Open (w/Wade); 1971 - Australian Open (w/Goolagong), South African Open (w/Goolagong); 1970 - Australian Open (w/Dalton), Wimbledon (w/Dalton), Melbourne (w/Dalton), Sydney (w/Dalton), Frinton (w/Lloyd), Eastbourne (w/Tegart); 1969 - Perth (w/Tegart), Melbourne (w/Tegart), Sydney (w/Tegart), Brisbane (w/Tegart); 1968 - US Open (w/Bueno), Rome (w/Wade), Manchester (w/Bueno), Berkeley (w/Bueno), Beckenham (w/Bueno), West Kirby (w/Wade), Perth (w/Walkden), Aberavon (w/Walkden), London I (w/Walkden

).

MIXED DOUBLES Winner (19 Open Era): 1975 - US Open ; 1974 - South Africian Open (w/Riessen); 1972 - US Open (w/Riessen); 1971 - South African Open (w/Stolle); 1970 - US Open (w/Ralston), South Africian Open (w/Riessen); 1969 - Roland Garros (w/Riessen), US Open (w/Riessen); 1968 - Rome (wRiessen), Berkeley (w/Smith), West Kensington (w/Smith). Overall Stats

Question: What was Australian tennis player Margaret Court’s maiden name?
Answer: Smith