1/10
Awful
3 August 2022
One of those movies with an AGENDA - and they'll twist anything to try to persuade.

1) We are shown Margaret Smith Court defeating Billie Jean King to become #1 ranked, only because King had such domestic difficulties with her awakening lesbianism, her confrontation with her husband the day before - but these are the facts: the two women faced each other 32 times. Court won 22 of the 32 matches.

In their lifetime records, no woman in history - sorry, Billie Jean, sorry Serena Williams, sorry Steffi Graff -has come close to Margaret Smith Court's feat. Sixty-four major titles - the closest anyone has come to this is Serena Williams who has won merely 39.

So we've seen movies featuring Billie Jean King and featuring Serena Williams (though ostensibly about her father)

Where is the movie about the greatest woman player of all time? Margaret Smith Court - who not only won an astounding 25 MORE majors triumphs than the runner-up Williams, but took time out of her careet to have two children.

Again and again, in Battle of the Sexes we are told that it is Billie Jean King who has alone been a rebel, a revolutionary, strong in her beliefs. Yet what we see in the movie is Margaret Court alone with her baby (the only woman on the women's tour at that time to have children). And as is apparent in the movie, it is Margaret Smith Court who takes the lonely position in favor of sexual morality that the rest of the women's tour either ignores or flouts.

No one would say that it is Margaret Smith Court who has taken the easy way of seeking public approval - but she's been the best in the history of women's tennis while showing she's the most courageous - because absolutely alone - in stating her views.

No woman in history comes close to the records Court has set. From Wikipedia: "n 1970, Court became the first woman during the Open Era (the second woman in history after Maureen Connolly) to win the singles Grand Slam (all four major tournaments in the same calendar year).

"Her all-surfaces (hard, clay, grass and carpet) singles career-winning percentage of 91.74% is the best of all time according to the Sporteology website.

"Her Open era singles career winning percentage of 91.02% (608-60) is unequalled, as is her Open era winning percentage of 91.67% (11-1) in Grand Slam singles finals.

"Her win-loss performance in all Grand Slam singles tournaments was 90.00% (207-23). She was 95.24% (60-3) at the Australian Open, 89.80% (44-5) at the French Open, 85.00% (51-9) at Wimbledon, and 89.66% (52-6) at the US Open.

"She also shares the Open era record for most Grand Slam singles titles as a mother (3) with Kim Clijsters.

"In 1973, Court set the record for most singles titles won in a single Grand Slam event, with 11 Australian Open wins. This record was only surpassed by a ,am. Rafael Nadal, in 2019 when he won his 12th French Open title, but remains a women's record. -
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