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Latest updates news Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Margaret Court: The young Margaret Smith already cut an impressive figure when she made her first foray to Europe in 1961. A protégé of former Wimbledon  champion Frank Sedgman, she was statuesque and athletic, strong and quick, quietly confident and driven. Indeed, having won the Australian championship at 17, Smith was touted as the best female player to emerge from a country that had produced a string of iconic male champions.

By the time she drew a veil over her career in 1977, aged 35, Mrs Margaret Court had more than lived up to the hype to confirm her place in that pantheon of greats. She had worked prodigiously hard to make the most of her physical attributes, setting new benchmarks in training – and the resulting record speaks for itself. All up, Court captured 62 Grand Slam titles – 24 in singles (only ever losing five finals), 19 in doubles and 19 mixed, the towering achievement being her sweep of all four singles majors in 1970.