British tennis player hits out at 'brainwashed' Court

British tennis player Liam Brody has spoken out against Margaret Court, while Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal have addressed the possibility of boycotting Margaret Court Arena.

Court, a fundamentalist Christian, has targeted same-sex parents - including Australian player Casey Dellacqua - and has argued for conversion therapy for gay people.

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Broady, who lost in qualifying for the Australian Open on Saturday, made his feelings about Court known on Twitter after his match.

"It’s such a shame that Margaret Court is destroying her legacy with this clearly illogical diatribe that she has so obviously been taught by close minded roll models throughout her life," he wrote.

"Thoroughly brainwashed to believe such hateful words...

"Comparing the LGBT community in tennis to Hitler and communism is the most offensive and unfounded comment I have ever heard in my life and it just sounds like she’s parroting learnt opinions.

"She is much too intelligent to come to those conclusions on her own. Real shame.

"I completely agree with the freedom of speech...But when you start comparing good people to some of the most evil people in history because of their sexuality I’d say it comes pretty damn close to preaching hatred."

Tennis trailblazer Billie Jean King on Friday used the occasion of being named Australian Open woman of the year to call for the renaming of Margaret Court Arena.

King said Court's "derogatory" attacks on sexually diverse people had crossed the line, adding that she would refuse to play on the arena if she was appearing at this year's tournament.

But while King said it was possible the court could be boycotted, there appeared to be little appetite for such a move during Saturday's pre-tournament interviews.

British ninth seed Johanna Konta summed up the mood when she noted that it was up to tournament officials to decide who plays where.

"In terms of scheduling, I will play wherever I'm scheduled," she said.

"That's out of my control. I will look to be prepared for whatever court I'm playing on.

"I don't agree with what Margaret Court said. However, she's entitled to her own opinion. But again ... it's a tournament decision where they put me."

Former Australian Open champions Nadal and Stan Wawrinka both indicated the issue wasn't on their radar, while Kyrgios said he would try to "block out" Court's personal views.

"I guess you got to take it just as how she was as a tennis player," Kyrgios said.

"Obviously, definitely I am okay with same-sex marriage, all that sort of stuff.

"For me, I mean, you got to just try to block it out. It's her court because she was a great champion of the game. That's all it is, I guess."

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley on Friday said Tennis Australia didn't have a view on the renaming of the arena.

"They're not the views of our organisation ... they're not the views of our sport. We're inclusive, diverse and equal," he said.

The arena is managed by the Melbourne and Olympics Parks Trust under the purview of the Victorian Government.

King had previously been a supporter of Margaret Court's name remaining on the arena but has now said she can no longer turn a blind eye to the former tennis star's current views.

with AAP