Wondering what the Tournament of Champions is, and how we got here? Read more about our 50th Anniversary Celebration and get caught up on all the matches so far.
This is a battle of the ever-so-slightly underrated. Court is the all-time Grand Slam title leader, with 24 in singles and a staggering 62 overall, but she was never as popular as two of her successors, Chris Evert and Evonne Goolagong. Historically, she has also been overshadowed by her more famous American rival, Billie Jean King. Henin spent 117 weeks at No. 1 and won seven majors. While she was just 5’5 1/2”, her elegantly lethal once-handed backhand made her one of the most dynamic players, pound for pound, of all time. But the Belgian, who retired in 2011, has also been overshadowed by a more famous American rival, Serena Williams.
A Court-Henin face-off would be a study in contrasting methods of aggression. Court was a long, tall, net-rusher; Henin was a whirling all-court dervish who was constantly trying to get the first punch in from the baseline. But as Virginia Wade said, Court had a complete game as well. “Margaret was great on all surfaces,” Wade says. “If she had to rally, she would hit great ground strokes as long as she had to on slower courts.”
That might not help Court win a set on clay, Henin’s favorite surface, but it could be enough to push her through one on hard courts and onto the grass she loved most. There, her wingspan at net would help her soar past Henin. “If they got to grass,” Brad Gilbert says, “Court would be trouble.”
