Albury can’t fault local hero Court

While Margaret Court Arena ­is at the epicentre of the ­same-sex ­marriage debate, in Albury nobody has a bad word for her.

‘No division in the community. Margaret is entitled to her opinion’: Sandra Rouvray with two Margaret Court Cup trophies in Albury yesterday. Picture: Simon Dallinger.`

While Margaret Court Arena ­is the epicentre of the ­same-sex ­marriage debate, at another venue named after Australia’s greatest female tennis player nobody has a bad word for her.

Court’s opposition to same-sex marriage has lit a fuse on both sides of the debate after declaring she would boycott Qantas over their decision to support the issue.

There are calls for Australian Open officials to change the name of Margaret Court Arena and yesterday our leading female player, Sam Stosur, suggested players may consider boycotting the venue next January.

Albury Tennis Association secretary Sandra Rouvray and president Ken Wurtz, however, remain proud that Court comes from their home town.

“We have heard of no division in the community. Margaret is ­entitled to her opinion,” Ms Rouvray said yesterday.

“We don’t see that her tennis and ‘freedom of speech’ are connected and for that reason, there is no movement to have her name removed from the tournament or academy.

“Albury Tennis Association has great pride in hosting an event honouring Margaret and happy to know that the grass courts played such a role in the early stages of a wonderful career.”

Margaret Court in Perth. Picture: Ross Swanborough

Albury is something of a shrine to the woman who won 24 major titles. The grass court where she learnt to play has been kept intact. The Margaret Court Tennis Academy is based there and the Margaret Court Cup tournament is played every year.

“It started in 2002 and is named after Margaret Court as she is one of the greatest female tennis players of all time, and she was born here,” said Ms Rouvray.

“Her house was across the road from our grass courts. Margaret has presented the trophy on a few occasions. The winners are happy and honoured to have won the event named after one of Australia’s greatest female athletes.”

After her first-round win at the French Open early yesterday, Stosur said she found it hard to believe Margaret Court Arena’s name would ever change, but ­suggested some players may request not to play on it.

“The court’s named Margaret Court Arena because of what she did in tennis, and that’s why basically,” she said.

“But I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we all get down to the Australian Open next year and (see) who wants to play on Margaret Court Arena and who doesn’t, and we’ll go from there.”

Sam Stosur beats Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova in the first round of the French Open on Monday. Picture: AFP

Court, 74, told Sky News on Monday night she had felt “bullying and intimidation” after her ­letter to the editor of The West Australian was published.

“The reason I spoke was because of Stuart Ballantyne, a big businessman from Queensland, he wrote a letter to Qantas and to Alan Joyce to say, ‘You’re using it as a platform to intimidate banks and companies and I gather now, small businesses’, and I think that’s very sad. They don’t have a right to do that,” Court told Sky. “We should be able to talk freely. I’ve got nothing against people. I even get letters from atheists and they say they believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I get them from all kinds of people ... they’re not Christians, I don’t think it’s anything to do with that.”