Margaret Court says she was discriminated against at Australian Open over her same-sex marriage views

Margaret Court says she was discriminated against at the Australian Open for her views on same-sex marriage.

Margaret Court has lashed out at Tennis Australia’s treatment of her saying she was discriminated against because of her views on same-sex marriage.

Court was honoured at the recent Australian Open to mark the 50th anniversary of her 1970 Grand Slam win. The 77-year-old former tennis star has previously described homosexuality as an “abominable sexual practice”.

“I think they think because I’m a preacher I’m going to preach the gospel but I would never do that,” Court told Channel Nine News. “There is a time to speak and a time to not.

“They (Tennis Australia) have pointed the finger at me and tried to discriminate in everything that I’ve done, and I think that’s very sad.”

But Tennis Australia returned serve saying it had given the tennis great the VIP treatment and that she had agreed to all the arrangements before coming to Melbourne, including not having a chance to speak on centre court.

A formal ceremony for Ms Court included screening a documentary showing her achievements but the 77-year-old was not allowed to speak.

Margaret Court with Rod Laver before the start of men's singles match between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Australia's Nick Kyrgios on day eight of the Australian Open.

“Tennis Australia invited Margaret and Barry Court, along with 16 members of their family, to the two weeks of the Australian Open,’’ it said in a statement. “TA covered the cost of flights, accommodation, breakfasts and executive club access, for the family, along with hospitality at the event, which included more than 100 tickets over the two weeks.

“Margaret agreed to all these arrangements ... prior to her arrival in Melbourne. We are very disappointed to hear now of her complaints, none of which were expressed to us during her time at the Australian Open.

“In addition Margaret and Barry attended ‘O’, the premium hospitality and seating area at the AO, at least eight times during the tournament, with the entire family of 16, including her children, their partners and her grandchildren, hosted on the night of her anniversary, Monday 27 January. In total, Margaret and Barry had 20 guests in ‘O’ for dinner and premium seating, along with an additional 26 tickets for family and friends in Rod Laver Arena on the night of the ceremony.”

Last week, former players Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe protested, calling for her name to be erased from Margaret Court Arena and replaced with that of Evonne Goolagong.

“I’d never go to another nation, whatever I thought of a person, I would never say, ‘Hey, you should take their name off a building, or off an arena, or a tennis centre.’ I would never do that,” Ms Court said. “I think that was very, very wrong.”