Serena Williams came up short Friday night in her pursuit of what would have been a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title. Now, with Williams’ professional tennis playing career presumably over, one of the all-time greats in women’s tennis — who happens to hold that record of two dozen crowns — is speaking out with some surprising criticism of the modern “G.O.A.T.”
“Serena, I’ve admired her as a player,” Margaret Court told Britain’s Daily Telegraph, in what ESPN calls a “rare” interview. “But I don’t think she has ever admired me.”
The 80-year-old Court set her record of 24 titles during her run from 1960 to 1973, while Williams’ reign has lasted over two decades (though with various breaks from action due to injuries and the birth of her daughter in 2017).
According to an ESPN report, Court said she’s “become a persona non grata in the tennis world” due to her Christian beliefs, which led her to oppose same-sex marriage when it was proposed in Australia. She is a native of Albury, Australia and is currently a Christian minister in Perth, Western Australia.
“A lot of the press and television today, particularly in tennis, don’t want to mention my name,” Court 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.”
In her singles career, Court captured 11 championships at the Australian Open, five at the French Open, four at the U.S. Open and three at Wimbledon. She won seven consecutive crowns at the Australian Open from 1960 to 1966 and in 1970, became the first woman in the Open Era to complete the Grand Slam.
Court was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979.
“Serena has played seven years more than I did,” she said. “I finished in my early 30s. People forget that I took two years out. I first retired … when I was 25, thinking I would never return to tennis. … I got married, had a baby, but then had one of my best years, winning 24 out of 25 tournaments.”
The Australian also compared her record up against Williams after each of them had babies.
“I came back after two babies,” Court said. “After having the first baby, I won three out of the four Slams. … Serena hasn’t won a Slam since (having a baby).”
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