At the St Paul’s Festival of Lessons and Carols in December 2017, parishioners were privileged to hear invited guest, Pastor Margaret Court speak on the topic of ‘Remaining Faithful to Christ in a Post-Christian Society’.
Margaret Court was born in Albury, New South Wales, and went on to become one of Australia’s greatest tennis players. From the age of eight, when she practised by hitting tennis balls against a garage wall, she developed into a world No. 1 player and one of the most successful competitors in tennis history.
Court won her first major title at the Australian Open in 1960, aged just 17, beginning a remarkable run of seven consecutive Australian Open singles victories. She joined the international professional circuit the following year and quickly established herself among the world’s leading players. During her second international tour, she won three of the four major singles titles – the Australian, French and US Opens – with only Wimbledon eluding her after a defeat by American player Billie Jean King. She gained her first Wimbledon singles title in 1963, becoming the first Australian woman to win the championship, and completed the singles career Grand Slam at the age of 21.
Over a 17-year career, Court won an extraordinary 64 major titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles, including a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles. In 1970, she became the first Australian and only the second woman to win the singles Grand Slam in a calendar year, capturing the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Her 24 singles titles remain the record for both women’s and men’s tennis. Court also holds the unique distinction of being the only woman to complete a mixed-doubles Grand Slam, and the only player, male or female, to accomplish this twice, in 1963 and 1965. She was known as a determined but fair competitor who gave her all while representing Australia.
At the height of her tennis career, Court experienced a profound spiritual encounter with Jesus which changed the direction of her life, and as her Christian faith grew, she became increasingly committed to sharing it with others. She retired from tennis in 1976 and became a Pentecostal minister in 1991, establishing Margaret Court Ministries with the aim of bringing people to faith in Jesus. In 1995, this vision led to the formation of Victory Life Centre in Perth, where she became the founding minister.
Margaret’s sporting achievements continued to receive national recognition. In 2020, she was honoured for the 50th anniversary of her historic calendar-year Grand Slam, and in 2021 she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in recognition of her service to tennis and mentoring young athletes. Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park is also named in her honour.
St Paul’s parishioners had the opportunity to hear a very different side of this remarkable woman when Pastor Margaret Court shared her story at the St Paul’s Festival of Lessons and Carols. She spoke on the topic ‘Remaining Faithful to Christ in a Post-Christian Society’ to a nearly full church. Her words were encouraging for the parishioners, who afterwards enjoyed the chance to chat informally with Margaret over supper in the church undercroft.
Margaret Court is a tennis legend whose achievements remain remarkable even half a century later, but parishioners were especially inspired by her witness that her faith was more important than her tennis achievements.
