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BIOGRAPHY Court began playing tennis when she was 8 years old and was 17 when she won her first of seven straight singles titles at the Australian Championships . After Wimbledon in 1966, Court decided to retire from tennis. In 1967, she married Barry Court. She returned to tennis in 1968. In 1970, she won all four Grand Slam singles titles. In 1971, Court lost the singles final at Wimbledon to Evonne Goolagong while pregnant with her first child. Daniel arrived in March 1972. Court made a comeback the same year and played in the US Open. In 1974, her second child, Marika, was born. Court started playing again, but retired permanently in 1977 when she learned she was expecting the third of her four children. Court is one of only three players to have a "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles, i.e., every possible title (singles, same-sex doubles, and mixed doubles) from each Grand Slam event. The others are Doris Hart and Martina Navrátilová . In 1979, Court was inducted into the International Tennis Hall Of Fame , and in January 2003, Show Court One at Melbourne Park was renamed Margaret Court Arena. Also in 2003, the Government Of Australia honoured her and fellow Australian tennis superstar Rod Laver by putting their images on Postage Stamps . Court now lives in ), a Christian ministry. Court's father-in-law, Sir Charles Court , and brother-in-law, Richard Court , were Liberal Premiers Of Western Australia CAREER TIMELINE :1960 - Won her first singles title at the Australian Championships, but lost the junior girls final to Lesley Turner . :1962 - Won three of the Grand Slam singles tournaments. :1963 - Became the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon . She and Ken Fletcher became the first, and only, pair to win a Grand Slam in mixed doubles. :1965 - Won three of the Grand Slam singles tournaments and won another Grand Slam in mixed doubles, with three different partners. :1966 - Temporarily retired. :1969 - Won three of the Grand Slam singles tournaments. :1970 - Won all four of the Grand Slam singles tournaments, defeating Kerry Melville in the Australian Open final, Helga Niessen in the French Open final, Billie Jean King in the Wimbledon final, and Rosie Casals in the US Open final. Maureen Connolly in 1953 and Steffi Graf in 1988 are the only other women who have won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments during the same calendar year. :1973 - Won three of the Grand Slam singles tournamentss. On Mother's Day (May 13), lost a televised match to Bobby Riggs 6–2, 6–1, despite being the top-ranked women's player at the time. Billie Jean King beat Riggs to even the score four months later. :1975 - Played the final Grand Slam singles match of her career, losing to Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the US Open. :1977 - Played the final singles match of her career, defeating Greer Stevens 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 in the third round of the Virginia Slims of Detroit. Court defaulted the quarterfinal to Francoise Durr upon learning that she was pregnant. GRAND SLAM TITLES AND WORLD RANKINGS Court won a record 62 Grand Slam titles (24 singles, 19 women's doubles, 19 mixed doubles). Court reached the finals in 29, the semifinals in 36, and the quarterfinals in 43 of the 47 Grand Slams singles tournaments she entered during her career. Her won-lost record in Grand Slam singles tournaments was 210-23 .901 (47-5 at the French Championships/Open, 51-9 at Wimbledon, 51-6 at the US Championships/Open, and 61-3 at the Australian Championships/Open). She won 11 of the 16 Grand Slam singles tournaments she entered beginning with the 1969 Australian Open and ending with the 1973 United States Open. She also won 11 of the 17 Grand Slam singles tournaments she entered beginning with the 1962 Australian Championships and ending with the 1966 Australian Championships. During her career, Court was an astounding 146-2 .986 against unseeded players in Grand Slam singles tournaments. Court is the only player to have won the calendar year Grand Slam in both singles and mixed doubles. She won the singles slam in 1970, the mixed doubles slam in 1963 with fellow Australian Ken Fletcher, and the mixed doubles slam in 1965 with three different partners. According to the end-of-year rankings compiled by the . Her singles championships at the four Grand Slam tournaments: : Australian Open : 1960–66, 1969–71, 1973 (11 times) : French Open : 1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1973 (5 times) : Wimbledon : 1963, 1965, 1970 (3 times) : US Open : 1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1973 (5 times) Grand Slam singles titles (24) WIMBLEDON SINGLES RECORD Court's overall win-loss record at Wimbledon was 51-9 .850 in 12 years (1961-1966, 1968-1971, 1973, 1975). (Her win total includes one mid-match retirement but does not include any first round byes.) Her only losses were to Evonne Goolagong in 1975 and 1971, Chris Evert in 1973, Ann Haydon Jones in 1969, Judy Tegart Dalton in 1968, Billie Jean King in 1966 and 1962, Maria Bueno in 1964, and Christine Truman Janes in 1961. Court was 3-2 in finals, 5-4 in semifinals, and 9-2 in quarterfinals. Court failed to reach the quarterfinals only once, in 1962 during her second Wimbledon. After receiving a bye during the first round, Court lost to unseeded Billie Jean King in the second round. Court was 5-6 in three set matches, 46-3 in two set matches, and 0-2 in deuce third sets, i.e., sets that were tied 5-5 before being resolved. Court was seeded all 12 years she entered Wimbledon. (The tournament seeded only 8 players through 1976.)
Court was 10-8 .556 against seeded players. She was 41-1 against unseeded players, her only loss occurring during the second round of the 1962 tournament against Billie Jean King.
Against her major rivals at Wimbledon, Court was 3-2 versus Billie Jean King, 2-1 versus Christine Truman Janes, 1-0 versus Martina Navratilova, 1-0 versus Darlene Hard, 1-0 versus Karen Hantze Susman , 1-0 versus Nancy Richey Gunter , 1-0 versus Rosie Casals, 1-1 versus Maria Bueno, 0-1 versus Ann Haydon Jones, 0-1 versus Chris Evert, and 0-2 versus Evonne Goolagong. UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS/OPEN SINGLES RECORD Court's overall win-loss record at the United States Championships/United States Open was 51-6 .895 in 11 years (1961-1965, 1968-1970, 1972-1973, 1975). (Her win total does not include any first round byes.) Her only losses were to Martina Navratilova in 1975, Billie Jean King in 1972, Maria Bueno in 1968 and 1963, Karen Hantze Susman in 1964, and Darlene Hard in 1961. Court was 5-1 in finals, 6-2 in semifinals, and 8-2 in quarterfinals. Court failed to reach the quarterfinals only once, in 1964 when she lost to Karen Hantze Susman in the fourth round. Court was 9-3 in three set matches, 42-3 in two set matches, and 0-0 in deuce third sets, i.e., sets that were tied 5-5 before being resolved. Court was seeded all 11 years she entered the United States Championships/United States Open.
Court was 13-6 against seeded players and 38-0 against unseeded players.
Against her major rivals at the United States Championships/United States Open, Court was 3-0 versus Nancy Richey Gunter, 2-0 versus Virginia Wade, 2-0 versus Rosie Casals, 2-0 versus Francoise Durr, 2-0 versus Christine Truman Janes, 1-0 versus Chris Evert, 1-0 versus Evonne Goolagong, 1-1 versus Darlene Hard, 1-1 versus Billie Jean King, 1-2 versus Maria Bueno, 0-1 versus Martina Navratilova, and 0-1 versus Karen Hantze Susman. FRENCH CHAMPIONSHIPS/OPEN SINGLES RECORD Court's overall win-loss record at the French Championships/French Open was 47-5 .850 in 10 years (1961-1966, 1969-1971, 1973). (Her win total includes three walkovers but does not include any first round byes.) Her only losses were to Gail Chanfreau in 1971, Nancy Richey Gunter in 1966, Lesley Turner in 1965, Věra Suková in 1963, and Ann Haydon Jones in 1961. Court was 5-1 in finals, 6-1 in semifinals, and 7-2 in quarterfinals. Court failed to reach the quarterfinals only once, in 1971 when she lost to unseeded Gail Chanfreau in the third round. Court was 8-0 in three set matches, 39-5 in two set matches, and 2-0 in deuce third sets, i.e., sets that were tied 5-5 before being resolved. Court was seeded all 10 years she entered the French Championships/French Open.
Court was 15-4 .789 against seeded players. She was 32-1 against unseeded players, her only loss occurring during the third round of the 1971 tournament against Gail Chanfreau.
Against her major rivals at the French Championships/French Open, Court was 2-1 versus Nancy Richey Gunter, 1-0 versus Chris Evert, 1-0 versus Evonne Goolagong, 1-0 versus Maria Bueno, 1-0 versus Rosie Casals, 1-1 versus Ann Haydon Jones, 1-1 versus Lesley Turner, and 1-1 versus Věra Suková. AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS/OPEN SINGLES RECORD Court's overall win-loss record at the Australian Championships/Australian Open was 61-3 .953 in 14 years (1959-1966, 1968-1971, 1973, 1975). (Her win total includes one walkover but does not include any first round byes.) Her only losses were to Martina Navratilova in 1975, Billie Jean King in 1968, and Mary Reitano in 1959. Court was 11-1 in finals, 12-0 in semifinals, and 12-1 in quarterfinals. Court failed to reach the quarterfinals only once, in 1959 during her first Australian Championships. Court lost to fourth seeded Mary Reitano in the second round. Court was 6-0 in three set matches, 51-3 in two set matches, and 2-0 in deuce third sets, i.e., sets that were tied 5-5 before being resolved. Court was seeded 13 of the 14 years she entered the Australian Championships/Australian Open.
Court was 26-3 .897 against seeded players and 35-0 against unseeded players.
Against her major rivals at the Australian Championships/Australian Open, Court was 5-0 versus Jan Lehane, 4-0 versus Evonne Goolagong, 3-0 versus Kerry Melville, 2-0 versus Maria Bueno, 2-0 versus Rosie Casals, 2-0 versus Lesley Turner, 2-1 versus Billie Jean King, 1-0 versus Judy Tegart Dalton , 1-0 versus Francoise Durr , 1-0 versus Nancy Richey Gunter, and 0-1 versus Martina Navratilova. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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