Two people have been charged after awards, medals and other valuables were stolen from the West Australian home of controversial Australian tennis champion Margaret Court on Australia Day.
The men from Edgewater, aged 33 and 34, have been charged with one count of aggravated home burglary and commit and one count of stealing and are due to appear in a Perth court next month.
'It will be alleged about 8pm, two men gained access to the premises via the front entrance door,' Western Australian police said in a statement.
'Once inside, it will be further alleged the accused rummaged through the victim's property and stole a number of items including awards, medals and jewellery.
'A number of the items were located in nearby bushland and gardens.'
Court holds the all-time record for singles grand slam championships in the Open era with 24 and has a show court named after her at Melbourne Park, which hosts the Australian Open.
However, Court has not been sighted at the Australian grand slam in three years after calls from tennis greats Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe to have Margaret Court Arena re-named after Evonne Goolagong Cawley.
The 80-year-old is a Catholic and prominent voice of a Perth-based Pentecostal movement.
She has previously made headlines for her views on same-sex marriage, previously describing gay marriage as a 'trend'.
'I think there will be a price to pay for it in the future in the nation and people will see it's not about marriage,' she told the Herald Sun at the time.
'There will be a genderless generation. My thing was a marriage is between a man and a woman.'
While the former champion was not present at the Australian Open, she did make an appearance at the Yarrawonga Lawn Tennis Club in the lead-up where she signed autographs for young fans at an All Stars Tennis Tournament.
Court is considered one of the sport's all-time greats, having won 24 major singles titles and a phenomenal 64 major titles in total.
She retired from tennis in 1977.
Former champions Rod Laver, Evonne Goolagong, John Newcombe, Ken Rosewall and Ash Barty were spotted at the Australian Open this year but Court was a notable absentee.
She has not been sighted at the Australian Open since she was the guest of honour in 2020 to mark the 50-year anniversary of her 'grand slam' in 1970.
Tennis Australia introduced a Pride Day as part of the 2023 Australian Open to celebrate inclusivity, which included a Pride Hub and all-gender toilets at Melbourne Park.
On top of that, the Open also included a Glam Slam event to celebrate the LGBTI+ community from January 25-27.
