Evonne Goolagong Cawley: The impossible dream of the Australian tennis legend - and indigenous icon
Just by having the courage to follow her own dreams, the Aboriginal Australian forged a pathway for increased diversity in the world of tennis, and the seeds of her journey continue to bear fruit.
Tennis
Ash Barty looked around Rod Laver Arena with a bemused expression.
Up to now, the presentation of the 2022 Australian Open tennis trophy was following the same protocol as her previous two Grand Slam wins. Yet, the arena was more boisterous, the crowd enjoying the Barty Party having just seen the 25-year-old beat American Danielle Collins 6-3 7-6 (7-2) to break a 44-year-old hiatus for a homegrown singles winner. Other than that, the formalities were as expected.
That is, until Todd Woodbridge, the MC of the presentation party paused and said: “Okay I have a little surprise.
“We have a special guest to present the finalists trophy and the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. Would you please welcome a 13-time Grand Slam champion, a four-time winner here at the Australian Open, she’s a legend of our game, put your hands together for Evonne Goolagong Cawley.”
Barty’s confusion turned to a grin as she welcomed her personal mentor and friend, Evonne Goolagong Cawley to the court.
“To have that surprise was amazing,” said the Queenslander post-match, “to be able to experience that together on such a big occasion, on such a beautiful court, and in a tournament that means so much to both of us."
Goolagong Cawley was the first Aboriginal woman to win the Australian Open and watching Barty become the second was another indigenous Australian sporting legend, Cathy Freeman, the 400m Olympic champion at Sydney 2000.
Three generations of indigenous Australians, forging their own paths so that others may follow, and it all started with Goolagong Cawley.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley: Indigenous leader
Goolagong Cawley was born the third of eight children, part of the only Aboriginal family in the town of Barellan, New South Wales.
After regularly peering through the fence at those playing tennis at the local court, club president Bill Kurtzman invited the curious youngster to have a go.
A passion developed with a burgeoning ‘impossible dream’ of one day playing at Wimbledon, a far off place featured in a magazine, curating a vision honed while tapping a ball on the wall using a bat made from an old fruit box and wearing clothes sewn by her mum from a bed sheet.
The town’s community did everything they could to help the prodigy succeed, despite it being the era when Aboriginals were discriminated against including not being allowed in clubs.
“The locals did everything they could to support her tennis dream, from buying clothes to raising funds so that she could travel to tournaments,” revealed her daughter Kelly Cawley Loats in an interview with the Women’s Tennis Association in 2021.
A move to Sydney enabled the 14-year-old to board, go to school and develop her game and five years on, Goolagong Cawley won her first Grand Slam, the 1971 French Open.
A month later, the childhood dream came true with a win at Wimbledon, beating first the favourite, Billie Jean King in the semi-final and then besting her idol and defending champion Margaret Court 6–4, 6–1 in the final.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley: Blazing a trail
By career’s end, Goolagong Cawley had been ranked number one in the world twice and was a finalist in 18 Grand Slam singles events, winning Wimbledon twice, the Australian Open four times, the French Open once and being runner-up four years in succession at the US Open.
One of those titles, the second Wimbledon win in 1980, was three years after becoming a mother, in another example of paving the way for the next generations. Since then, the likes of Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka followed suit.
Goolagong Cawley also developed her own clothing line, Go Goolagong, and had an outfit designed with a bolero-style jacket for one tournament.
Fifty years after the 1971 Wimbledon triumph, Barty paid homage to her mentor by wearing a dress emulating the scalloped skirt worn by Goolagong Cawley at the same hallowed grounds.
The tournament would complete Barty's own Wimbledon dream, bagging the 2021 title, and after claiming the Australian Open title in 2022, retired from the sport in order to pursue other interests such as supporting indigenous culture.
The proud Ngarigo woman who is a Tennis Australia’s First Nations Ambassador even took the Australian Open trophy to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to show local students. Barty also promoted the Racquets and Red Dust tennis programme, which creates sustainable tennis pathways for First Nations people to not only try tennis but also focus on positive health, education and social outcomes.
Very much following the path of her idol, who set up the Evonne Goolagong Foundation in 2012 to "give as many Indigenous children the opportunity to be the best they can be", Barty told an International Women’s Day event in 2019, “Evonne has inspired me on and off the court since I was a young girl.
“Evonne’s outstanding achievements and her passion for helping the Indigenous community are two things I admire.”
Evonne Goolagong Cawley: Proud Fed Cup captain
Goolagong Cawley's competitive rival, King, has also spent her post-tennis career fighting for justices for the next generation, focusing on equality in tennis and beyond.
The Fed Cup, pretty much the World cup of women's tennis, was renamed in honour of the 12-time Grand Slam singles champion. The Billie Jean King Cup takes place in Scotland from 8-13 November and sees 12 nations battling for 'world's best' moniker.
Goolagong Cawley herself was passionate about the competition, winning four times and captaining the side from 2002-04.
"There is no higher honour in sport than being selected to represent your country and I have certainly taken great pride in always giving my best in my position as Fed Cup captain," she said.
The previous week, the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Juniors and Davis Cup Juniors – the latter the men's edition – showcased the increased diversity of the 16-and-under players coming through, featuring athletes from countries including Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Morocco, Colombia and Paraguay.
So the legacy started by Goolagong Cawley is being continued by those following in her wake, paying it forward in an ongoing cycle.