1 minute read

Margaret Smith Court

Trained In Melbourne



By the time Court was in her late teens, Rutter and the local coaches believed that she needed better training. To that end, they contacted world champion Frank Sedgman who had a club in Melbourne, Australia. With her parents' approval, Court moved there and began training with him and other members of his staff. To pay for the training, she worked as a receptionist for the squash courts and gymnasium.



Sedgman and his group gave Court a wide-range of training experiences. Stan Nicholls worked with her inherent athletic ability to give her more fitness than had often been seen in female athletes of the time. Coach Keith Rogers helped her with her strokes. Sedgman worked on tactics and the game as a whole.

The tennis game Court and her coaches developed relied on her athleticism. She had strong volleying abilities, in part because of her childhood days playing with boys. She also played an attacking game that relied on her serve and volley, only using ground strokes when needed. She had a great serve, which she worked on, as well as endurance. The most unusual aspect of the game they developed was playing tennis right-handed, though she was left-handed, something done to a number of lefties in this era.

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsTennisMargaret Smith Court - Early Interest In Tennis, Trained In Melbourne, Early Victories, Turned Professional, Chronology, Related Biography: Coach Frank Sedgman - CONTACT INFORMATION, SELECTED WRITINGS BY COURT: