The Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne was renamed on Google Maps for a brief period in response to the tennis legend’s recent comments publicly opposing same-sex marriage.
The arena, which hosts matches at the Australian Open, is named after Court, who holds the record for the number of grand slam wins – 24.
In recent weeks a number of figures from the world of tennis have called for Court’s name to be stripped from the venue after she made critical comments about gay marriage.
The saga took another turn this week after the arena was renamed as the Evonne Goolagong Arena on Google Maps. Goolagong won seven grand slams in the 1970s and 1980s, including consecutive Australian Opens in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977.
Changed the name
Google swiftly changed the name and said it did not make the switch.
Court said she would stop using the Qantas airline due to its support of same-sex marriage. “I am disappointed that Qantas has become an active promoter for same-sex marriage,” Court said in a letter to the West Australian newspaper.
“I believe in marriage as a union between a man and a woman as stated in the Bible. Your statement leaves me no option but to use other airlines where possible for my extensive travelling.”
Court was criticised by, among others, Richel Hogenkamp and Casey Dellacqua – two openly gay players on the women’s tour.
Women’s tennis great Martina Navratilova, who has been married to partner Julia Lemigova since 2014, had criticised Court’s comments in an open letter to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper and said that the Evonne Goolagong Arena “has a great ring to it”.
Image: Tourism Victoria
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