Renewed pressure to rename arena over ‘homophic’ remarks by Court
● LGBT group still seeking action over former champion’s controversial views
Tennis Australia is facing renewed calls to rename the Margaret Court Arena because of the former champion’s attacks on the LGBT community.
The 106th Australian Open begins in Melbourne on Monday and the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby has met with both Tennis Australia and Melbourne and Olympic Park in recent months to voice their concerns.
The main show court at the Australian Open was renamed in 2003 in tribute to Court, who won 24 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other male or female player in history.
However, Court, who became a Pentecostal Christian minister in 1991 and is now a pastor in Perth, has made repeated vocal attacks on homosexuality.
She has previously stated that that LGBT tendencies in young people were “all the devil” and claimed that “gay lobbyists” were influencing the minds of children to turn them into homosexuals and transgender people.
She was a high-profile campaigner
0 Maria Sharapova poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup in the Margaret Court Arena. against gay marriage, which was nevertheless voted into law by the Australian parliament last year.
Dale Park, co-convenor of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, said: “Mrs Court’s sporting achievements are unquestionable, but her consistent attacks on the LGBTIQ community, including a fellow Australian tennis player and their family fall well short of community expectations.
“Mrs Court’s ongoing claims that tennis has been infiltrated by lesbians and that older female players have corrupted younger female players are homophobic at the very least and paint same-sex attracted people as predatory opportunists.these comments about the LGBTIQ community more so than her stance on marriage equality are the reason the arena should be renamed. “
Court has said that LGBT communities have a “plot” to “get in the minds of the children”, which she likened to mind control that occurred in Nazi Germany under Hitler, and declared that women’s tennis is “full of lesbians”.
Ahead of last year’s vote in Australia on gay marriage, she declared that she would boycott the airline Qantas “where possible” in protest at its support of equal marriage.
Tennis Australia has previously said that Court’s “personal views are her own, and do not align with Tennis Australia’s values of equality, inclusion and diversity”.
Meanwhile, tournament director Craig Tiley has defended the decision to invite doping offender Maria Sharapova to the draw ceremony.
With defending champion Serena Williams missing the tournament as she feels she is not yet back to her best after the birth of her daughter Alexis, organisers controversially chose Sharapova to represent the women.
The Russian entered Margaret Court Arena carrying the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup at the same venue where she failed a doping test for meldonium two years ago.
But Tiley insisted there were no mixed messages, citing Sharapova’s status as a former champion, the Russian having lifted the trophy ten years ago.
In the absence of Williams and Victoria Azarenka, who is embroiled in an ongoing custody battle over baby son Leo, Sharapovaand2016champion Angelique Kerber are the only former winners in the draw.
With Kerber still competing at the tournament in Sydney, Tiley was happy to call on Sharapova.
“We wanted to have a former champion,” he said. “We were happy she accepted our invite. The adjudication has occurred on that (the drugs ban). Maria deserved the opportunity.”
Sharapova has climbed to 47th in the rankings as she continues to work her way back from her 15-month doping ban. Heather Watson reached only her second WTA Tour semi-final in nearly two years by beating Donna Vekic 6-0, 6-4 at the Hobart International.
Last summer’s run at Eastbourne was the only time she had reached the last four since she won her third WTA title in Monterrey in March 2016.
The British No 2 won the title in Tasmania three years ago and was in brilliant form for most of the match yesterday, opening up a 6-0, 5-0 lead.
The 25-year-old has never won a match without dropping a game and Vekic threatened a comeback by winning four games in a row. But Watson clinched victory and will face second seed Elise Mertens in the semi-finals.
In Australian Open qualfying in Melbourne, Naomi Broady reached the second round but there were defeats for Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter.
Broady dropped the second set to Kathinka von Deichmann of Liechtenstein but recovered to win 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-3. The British No 3 will face Holland’s Bibiane Schoofs in the second round with three victories needed to reach the main draw.
Norrie was beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Australian John-patrick Smith and British No 4 Boulter retired with a leg injury down 6-4, 6-7 (1/7), 5-2 to America’s Kayla Day.