Andy Murray hints at Australian Open boycott over Margaret Court anti-gay marriage comments

One of the show courts in Melbourne Park is named after the 24-time Grand Slam singles winner

Murray said any action would need to be taken before the tournament starts (Getty)

Andy Murray has hinted that he could support a boycott next year’s Australian Open in the wake of comments by Margaret Court against gay marriage.

Court is a 24-time Grand Slam singles champion who has one of the Australian Open’s prime show courts in Melbourne named after her.

However, she has since become a Christian pastor and has long voiced her opposition to gay marriage, even saying last week that she would boycott Australian airline Qantas because of chief executive Alan Joyce’s support for same-sex marriage.

Australian women’s No 1 Sam Stosur hinted that she could refuse to compete on the court in Melbourne Park next January unless the name is changed – something supported by Martina Navratilova, who is in a same-sex marriage herself.

Following his first-round win over Andrey Kuznetsov at the French Open, Murray said: “I don't see why anyone has a problem with two people who love each other getting married.

“If it's two men, two women, that's great. I don't see why it should matter. It's not anyone else's business. Everyone, in my opinion, should have the same rights. I don't agree with that (Court's stance).”

When asked if he would support a potential boycott of the first tennis major of the year, Murray said: “If something was to be done, I think it would be a lot more beneficial to do it before the tournament starts.

“For players to be in a position where you're in a slam and boycotting playing on the court, I think would potentially cause a lot of issues.

“So I think if something was going to be happen and the players come to an agreement, if they think the name should be changed or whatever, that should be decided before the event starts.

“But I would imagine a lot of the players would be pretty offended. So we'll see what happens.