28 January

Every year I give a plug to Margaret Court, an astonishing sportsperson who is not properly appreciated. Serena Williams has just won her 23rd grand slam singles title, which is amazing, but still one behind Court's 24. But you don't get a true sense of Court's achievement until you look at ALL grand slam titles, including doubles and mixed doubles. Court won 64 grand slam titles in total. Williams has 38. Federer, who gets so much praise, doesn't even make the top 10 in total grand slam titles for men. Rafael Nadal is not even in the top 20. Court also: - is the only woman to win the mixed doubles grand slam. And she did it twice. - she won nearly 92% of singles games she played, and the same nearly 92% of all grand slam finals she played. Those are unequalled stats. - she had children while amassing these records. - Court is the only tennis player in history to to complete a multiple slam set, twice, in all three disciplines: singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. Thanks to Scott Tully for reminding me last year that Heather McKay, the almost unbelievable Australian women's squash legend, may even surpass Court in genius. McKay did not lose a single game between 1962 and 1981, and won the British Open (the Wimbledon of squash) 16 times in a row.