Posted on 09/05/2022 6:03:23 AM PDT by God luvs America
Australia's Margaret Court believes she doesn't get as much credit from the tennis world as she deserves for her 24 Grand Slam singles titles and that Serena Williams doesn't reciprocate her admiration.
Williams -- who holds 23 Slam titles, one shy of the record Court set from 1960 to 1973 -- was feted in many quarters as the greatest tennis player of all time in the wake of what is expected to be her final appearance at Flushing Meadows after recently telling the world she is ready to start "evolving'' away from her playing days. Williams, who will turn 41 this month, was eliminated from the US Open in the third round by Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday night, a match in which she staved off five match points to prolong the three-hour-plus proceedings.
"Serena, I've admired her as a player," Court, 80, told Britain's Daily Telegraph in a rare interview. "But I don't think she has ever admired me."
Court said she has become a persona non grata in the tennis world because of her Christian beliefs, which led her to oppose same-sex marriage when it was proposed in Australia.
"A lot of the press and television today, particularly in tennis, don't want to mention my name," she said. "The honor has not been there for what I did do. In my own nation, I have been given titles, but they would still rather not mention me."
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
"I got married, had a baby, but then had one of my best years, winning 24 out of 25 tournaments."
Court pointed out that she had a superior record to Williams after they became mothers during their careers.
"I came back after two babies," she said. "After having the first baby, I won three out of the four Slams." She added that "Serena hasn't won a Slam since" having a baby.
Very true. They have tried to ghost Court* as she is not down with the LGBT agenda.
*: best name ever for a great tennis player....
So glad Ms. Court is still around to rightly throw shade at the pompous loudmouth Serena.
Chromosome test needed for Serena and her sister. She has the Michael obama look.
“””feted in many quarters as the greatest tennis player of all time”””
They don’t even bother to mention that this isn’t about the actual pro tennis players but is about the female version of pro tennis.
Steffi Graf retired at 30 years old, winning 22 major titles.
“They don’t even bother to mention that this isn’t about the actual pro tennis players but is about the female version of pro tennis.”
The media is extremely “desirous” as Rush would put it, that blacks and women be seen as better than whites or men.
“ — was feted in many quarters as the greatest tennis player of all time…”
There’s a qualifier missing here the that makes the statement about as untrue as a statement can get.
I like this part - so true. All the coddling today’s players get.
“I would love to have played in this era. I think it’s so much easier,” she said. “How I would love to have taken family or friends along with me. But I couldn’t. I had to go on my own or with the national team. People don’t see all that.
“We didn’t have psychologists or coaches with us. It’s a whole different world. That’s what disappoints me — that players today don’t honor the past of the game.”
Williams is black. That’s the main reason for hyping the praise.
All part of ‘the message’
Williams has been on PEDs almost here entire career, and her record needs an asterisk. Court competed “clean”...and still had more major titles.
Same argument can be made against Woods in golf. I sure Jack or Arnie would have loved to have the clubs players use today.
“So glad Ms. Court is still around to rightly throw shade at the pompous loudmouth Serena.”
So true. 👍
Had anyone acted like Williams in Court’s day they wouldn’t have been around for long. A different world.
Court is too honest for the woke crowd.
“Chromosome test needed for Serena and her sister. She has the Michael obama look.”
I’ve always said Serena was juicing.
If she’d ever been tested for roids she would have failed.
Losing to Bobby Riggs did not help her reputation. “Oh sh*t” said Martina Navratilova “Now I am going the have to play him”.
Martina Navratilova did play him and she did win.
There is a fascination in our culture with associating race with superiority in whatever venture is mentioned.
One can appreciate the accomplishments of one great athlete with another. They played in different times. The competition was different. The equipment was different. So it’s almost impossible to compare one to the other.
But many people make the mistaken assumption that the “old school” player would not have trained, or adapted to the “modern” environment as well as the current GOATs. I think the inherent talent and mental drive of world class athletes is ageless.
People need to just stop this crap. Tip a hat to the giants of their sport. But just end the seemingly endless drama.
I’m very glad Serena didn’t surpass Margaret Court - she would have been even more insufferable than she is now, if that’s even possible. She probably would have ordered herself a “crown” of some sort and required knee bending & hand kissing in her presence (butt kissing by media & certain elites has been going on for years). You have NO idea how much I’m NOT going to miss her on the tennis court.
Venus is a little better, but she’s even longer in the tooth than Serena at 42 & I hope she retires soon as well. No more “Williams Sisters”, thank you very much.
Unless the two want to settle it on the court, there is no way to tell who was the better player in their prime.
People have a tendency, especially in today’s culture to make comparisons about things they know nothing about.
In just about every sport, the latest and greatest Superstar is proclaimed as the GOAT, when the person making the comparison has little to know historical perspective.
In this case it’s Serena Williams, she is without a doubt one of the greatest women’s players of all time, comparing records Margaret Court is certainly able to proclaim herself the GOAT, in the end does it really matter.
Tiger Woods was proclaimed as the GOAT, when Jack Nicklaus has a much better record in major tournaments than Tiger Woods.
For example, Jack Nicklaus won 18 professional majors finished second in 19, and Woods has six runner-up results. Nicklaus had 48 top-three finishes at Slams, twice as many as Woods
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