The amateur years
Australia · born Albury, New South Wales, 1942 · three times Wimbledon champion · 24 major singles titles
All playersBack to the rankings
24
Major singles titles, the most by any woman
64
Major titles in singles, doubles and mixed
3
Wimbledon singles titles, 1963, 1965, 1970
10
Wimbledon titles across all three events
46
Games in the 1970 Wimbledon final
Born Margaret Smith in Albury, New South Wales, in 1942, she moved to Melbourne at 16 to train under Frank Sedgman and won her first Australian Championships in 1960. She went on to take 24 major singles titles, 19 in doubles and 21 in mixed: 64 in all, the most by any player. After a break from the game she married Barry Court in 1967 and returned in 1968. In 1970 she won all four majors, the second woman after Maureen Connolly to complete the calendar Grand Slam, and finished the year with 104 wins from 110 matches. She came back again after the birth of her first child in 1972 and played her last event in 1977. She entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979 and was ordained a Pentecostal minister in 1991.
| Major singles titles | 19: Wimbledon (1963, 1965, 1970); Australian (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973); US (1962, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1973) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 4: Wimbledon 1964, Wimbledon 1971, Australian 1968, US 1963 |
| Other grass singles titles | 66: NSW Championships 5 (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965); Perth 5 (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974); Queensland Championships 5 (1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965); Victorian Championships 5 (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965); Irish Championships 4 (1966, 1968, 1971, 1973); Kent 4 (1961, 1963, 1965, 1968); Queen's 4 (1961, 1964, 1970, 1971); Melbourne 3 (1969, 1970, 1976); Pennsylvania Championships 3 (1962, 1969, 1970); SA Championships 3 (1961, 1962, 1963); Sydney 3 (1969, 1971, 1973); WA Championships 3 (1961, 1965, 1966); Bristol 2 (1969, 1970); Eastern Grass Court Championships 2 (1962, 1963); Essex Championships 2 (1969, 1970); Newport 2 (1972, 1973); Northern Championships 2 (1965, 1968); Tasmanian Championships 2 (1962, 1970); Auckland (New Zealand Open) (1971); Jersey Shore Classic (1973); Northumberland Championships (1968); Perth (second edition) (1969); Piping Rock Invitational (1969); WA Championships (City of Perth) (1968); Welsh Championships (1969) |
| Major doubles titles | 14 doubles (Wimbledon 2, Australian 8, US 4), 17 mixed (Wimbledon 5, Australian 4, US 8) |
| Other grass doubles titles | 2: Irish Championships (1973); Perth (1971) |
| Wimbledon finals won | 1963: beat Billie Jean Moffitt 6-3, 6-4. 1965: beat Maria Bueno 6-4, 7-5. 1970: beat Billie Jean King 14-12, 11-9 in 2 hours 27 minutes |
| Wimbledon finals lost | 1964: lost to Maria Bueno 6-4, 7-9, 6-3. 1971: lost to Evonne Goolagong 6-4, 6-1, while three months pregnant |
| Wimbledon doubles | Won 1964 with Lesley Turner and 1969 with Judy Tegart; runner-up 1961, 1963, 1966 and 1971 |
| Wimbledon mixed | Won 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1968 with Ken Fletcher, 1975 with Marty Riessen; runner-up 1964 and 1971 |
| Grand Slams | Mixed doubles Grand Slam with Ken Fletcher in 1963; singles Grand Slam in 1970, three of the four legs on grass |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Mixed doubles | with Ken Fletcher |
| 1963 | Women's singles | |
| 1964 | Women's doubles | with Lesley Turner Bowrey |
| 1965 | Mixed doubles | with Ken Fletcher |
| 1965 | Women's singles | |
| 1966 | Mixed doubles | with Ken Fletcher |
| 1968 | Mixed doubles | with Ken Fletcher |
| 1969 | Women's doubles | with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| 1970 | Women's singles | |
| 1975 | Mixed doubles | with Marty Riessen |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1960 | Women's singles | |
| 1961 | Women's doubles | with Mary Carter Reitano |
| 1961 | Women's singles | |
| 1962 | Women's doubles | with Robyn Ebbern |
| 1962 | Women's singles | |
| 1963 | Women's doubles | with Robyn Ebbern |
| 1963 | Mixed doubles | with Ken Fletcher |
| 1963 | Women's singles | |
| 1964 | Mixed doubles | with Ken Fletcher |
| 1964 | Women's singles | |
| 1965 | Women's doubles | with Lesley Turner Bowrey |
| 1965 | Women's singles | |
| 1966 | Women's singles | |
| 1969 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| 1969 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1970 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| 1970 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1971 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
| 1971 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1973 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Virginia Wade |
| 1973 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1961 | Mixed doubles | with Bob Mark |
| 1962 | Mixed doubles | with Fred Stolle |
| 1962 | Women's singles | |
| 1963 | Women's doubles | with Robyn Ebbern |
| 1963 | Mixed doubles | with Ken Fletcher |
| 1964 | Mixed doubles | with John Newcombe |
| 1965 | Mixed doubles | with Fred Stolle |
| 1965 | Women's singles | |
| 1968 | Women's doubles US National Amateur Championships | with Maria Bueno |
| 1968 | Women's singles US National Amateur Championships | |
| 1968 | Women's doubles US Open | with Maria Bueno |
| 1969 | Women's doubles US National Amateur Championships | with Virginia Wade |
| 1969 | Women's singles US National Amateur Championships | |
| 1969 | Mixed doubles US Open | with Marty Riessen |
| 1969 | Women's singles US Open | |
| 1970 | Women's doubles US Open | with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| 1970 | Mixed doubles US Open | with Marty Riessen |
| 1970 | Women's singles US Open | |
| 1972 | Mixed doubles US Open | with Marty Riessen |
| 1973 | Women's doubles US Open | with Virginia Wade |
| 1973 | Women's singles US Open | |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1961 | Women's singles†| |
| 1962 | Women's singles†| |
| 1963 | Women's singles†| |
| 1964 | Women's singles†| |
| 1965 | Women's singles†| |
| 1969 | Women's singles†New South Wales Open | |
| 1971 | Women's singles†New South Wales Open | |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1961 | Women's singles†| |
| 1962 | Women's singles†| |
| 1963 | Women's singles†| |
| 1964 | Women's singles†| |
| 1965 | Women's singles†| |
| 1969 | Women's singles†| |
| 1970 | Women's singles†| |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1960 | Women's singles†| |
| 1962 | Women's singles†| |
| 1963 | Women's singles†| |
| 1964 | Women's singles†| |
| 1965 | Women's singles†| |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1961 | Women's singles†| |
| 1963 | Women's singles†| |
| 1965 | Women's singles†| |
| 1968 | Women's singles†| |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1961 | Women's singles†| |
| 1964 | Women's singles†| |
| 1970 | Women's singles†| |
| 1971 | Women's singles†| |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1966 | Women's singles†| |
| 1971 | Women's singles†Irish Open | |
| 1973 | Women's doubles†Irish Open | with Virginia Wade |
| 1973 | Women's singles†Irish Open | |
| Western Australian Championships | ||
| 1971 | Women's doubles†| with Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
| 1971 | Women's singles†| |
| 1972 | Women's singles†| |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1972 | Women's doubles†Virginia Slims of Newport | with Lesley Hunt |
| 1972 | Women's singles†Virginia Slims of Newport | |
| 1973 | Women's singles†Virginia Slims of Newport | |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1962 | Women's singles†| |
| 1963 | Women's singles†| |
| Pennsylvania Grass Court Championships (Merion) | ||
| 1962 | Women's singles†| |
| 1969 | Women's singles†| |
| Bristol (West of England) | ||
| 1969 | Women's singles†Bristol Open | |
| 1970 | Women's singles†Bristol Open | |
| Toyota Classic (Melbourne) | ||
| 1976 | Women's doubles†| with Betty Stöve |
| 1976 | Women's singles†| |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1965 | Women's singles†| |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1969 | Women's singles†| |
| New Zealand Championships | ||
| 1971 | Women's singles†New Zealand Open | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I was thrown out there amongst the wolves at a very early age"
The person behind the player.
Albury, about 1950
The Smith family lived across from the Border Tennis Association. From about the age of eight she slipped onto empty courts with a second-hand racquet and was sent off again and again, until the club's Wally Rutter gave her a membership and lessons. She often played with boys, and although left-handed she learned the game right-handed.
Source: Encyclopedia.comMelbourne, late 1950s
At 16 she moved to Melbourne to be coached full-time by Frank Sedgman, a former world No. 1. The work included weights, circuit training and running on sandhills, at a time when few women trained that way. The strength it built earned her the nickname The Aussie Amazon.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1962
She had withdrawn from the official Australian team, and the English press branded her a rebel. "I was on billboards and all over the newspapers and it was all very negative," she recalled. Seeded first, she lost in the first round to Billie Jean Moffitt. A year later she became the first Australian woman to win the singles.
Source: Steve FlinkWimbledon 1970
Before the final a doctor injected her damaged ankle and told her it would last about two and a half hours; if the match went to a third set, she said, "I was a goner." She beat Billie Jean King 14-12, 11-9 in 2 hours 27 minutes, with King herself close to knee surgery. It was the third leg of her Grand Slam.
Source: Steve FlinkWimbledon 1971
Court lost the final to Evonne Goolagong 6-4, 6-1, the second of her two Wimbledon final defeats. It emerged afterwards that she had played it three months pregnant with her first child. Goolagong's reply on hearing the news was a joke: "so that's why she played so badly."
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameRamona, California, 1973
Bobby Riggs, then 55, gave her roses before their challenge match, played on Mother's Day, and won 6-2, 6-1. "It was a shock to my system at the time," she said later. The defeat brought Billie Jean King into the Battle of the Sexes, which she won 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in Houston that September.
Source: Steve FlinkFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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