Rename arena, says tennis star

Billie Jean King has said one of the main venues for the Australian Open tennis tournament should be renamed because of Margaret Court’s comments about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

King, a pioneer for equality and diversity in tennis, said she had initially been a proponent of having Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena named in recognition of the 24-time Grand Slam singles winner’s contribution to the sport.

“I was fine until lately when she said so many derogatory things about my community – I’m a gay woman – about the LBGTIQ community,” King said yesterday.