Evonne Goolagong
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Australia |
| Date of birth | 31 July 1951 |
| Place of birth | Griffith, New South Wales, Australia |
| Height | 5'6" (1.68 m) |
| Weight | 130 lbs. (58.9 kg) |
| Turned pro | 1969 |
| Retired | 1983 |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Career prize money | US$1,399,431 |
| Int. Tennis HOF | 1988 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 704–165 |
| Career titles | 68 |
| Highest ranking | 1 (April 26, 1976) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | W (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 (Dec.)) |
| French Open | W (1971) |
| Wimbledon | W (1971, 1980) |
| US Open | F (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 18–16 |
| Career titles | 7 |
| Highest ranking | - |
| Last updated on: 4 February 2007. | |
Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley, AO, MBE (born 31 July 1951 in Griffith, New South Wales, Australia) is a former World No. 1 Australian female tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, when she won 14 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles (four Australian Open, two Wimbledon and one French Open), six in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.
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Early life
Goolagong was her maiden name but Cawley was added following her marriage to the British metal broker and amateur tennis player Roger Cawley on 19 June 1975.[1] She is the third of eight children[2] from an Australian Aboriginal family: father, Kenny Goolagong (an itinerant sheep shearer) and mother Melinda, members of the Wiradjuri people. She grew up in the small country town of Barellan, New South Wales. Although Aboriginal people faced widespread discrimination in rural Australia at this time, Evonne was able to play tennis in Barellan from childhood thanks to a kindly resident, Bill Kurtzman, who saw her peering through the fence at the local courts and encouraged her to come in and play. In 1967, the proprietor of a tennis school in Sydney, Vic Edwards, tipped off by two of his assistants, traveled upcountry to take a look at the young Evonne and immediately saw her potential. He convinced her parents to allow Evonne to move to Sydney, where she attended Willoughby Girls High School. Here she completed her School Certificate in 1968 and was at the same time coached by Edwards, living in his household.
Evonne Goolagong was ranked #1 in the world for 2 weeks in 1976. This was never reported in 1976 because of some computer error. This was discovered in December 2007. She was the 16th woman to hold the spot, reported 31 years later.[3]
Grand Slam Success
Goolagong won seven Grand Slam singles titles in her career, reaching a total of eighteen singles finals. During the 1970s, she played in seventeen finals, a period record for any player; man or woman. Between 1973 and 1978, she reached the final of almost every Grand Slam singles event she entered. There was only one exception. After losing to Billie-Jean King at Wimbledon 1973 at the semi final stage, Goolagong only suffered one defeat prior to the final until Wimbledon 1978, when she lost at the semi final stage to Martina Navratilova. The only defeat that prevented her from reaching every final in this five year period was a loss at Wimbledon at the quarter final stage to Australian Kerry Melville Reid. Otherwise, Goolagong would have made eleven straight finals instead of ten. In the year of her early Wimbledon defeat, Goolagong teamed up with Peggy Michel to win the Ladies Doubles title. She is the only mother to have won the Wimbledon title since before World War I. At the US Open, Mrs. Cawley is the only player (man or woman) to lose four consecutive finals at the championships and the only woman to do so in the entire US Championships history. Gooalgong made seven consecutive finals at the Australian Open, winning four, both records for the open era, although she did not compete in the January 1977 event. Despite reaching the final at her first two appearances in 1971 & 1972, after 1973 Goolagong did not compete at the French Open championships for a decade. She returned in 1983 for her final Grand Slam singles appearance. She lost in the last thirty-two to Chris Evert and promptly retired.
Career statistics
Life after touring
Goolagong spent some time as the touring professional at the Hilton Head Racquet Club in South Carolina before returning to Australia.[4]
Goolagong was a member of the Board of the Australian Sports Commission from 1995 to 1997 and since 1997 has held the position of Sports Ambassador to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. Goolagong was appointed captain of the Australian Fed Cup team in 2002. In 2003, she was winner for the Oceania region of the International Olympic Committee's 2003 Women and Sports Trophy. Goolagong also runs an annual "Goolagong National Development Camp", with the aim of facilitating Aboriginal children playing competitive tennis.[5]
Awards and recognition
Goolagong was awarded an MBE in 1972 and made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1982. In 1988, Goolagong was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Following her wedding to Roger Cawley in 1975, Goolagong settled in Naples, Florida. After living in the U.S. for eight years, the couple bought a home at Noosa Heads, Queensland, where they settled with their two children. Daughter Kelly Inalla (born 12 May 1977, Beaufort, SC, USA)[6] helps run her tennis camps and son Morgan Kiema Cawley (born 1981)[7] was a National Soccer League player.
Biography
- Home! The Evonne Goolagong Story, Cawley, Evonne Goolagong and Jarrett, Phil (1993), ISBN 0 7318 0381 7[8]
References
- ↑ People in Sports; Evonne Goolagong Married, June 20, 1975, Page 14, The New York Times
- ↑ Goolagong discusses aborigine roots, Nov 1, 1980, The Day
- ↑ Computer glitch denied Goolagong No. 1 WTA ranking in '76, December 31, 2007, Associated Press, ESPN Sports
- ↑ Tennis.com: Where Are They Now? - Evonne Goolagong Cawley
- ↑ Grand Slam champ Evonne Goolagong uses camp to search for next aboriginal player or coach, 1/13/2008, By Dennis Passa, AP Sports Writer, USA Today
- ↑ Evonne Gives Birth to Daughter, Page 3-F, May 13, 1977, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- ↑ Where Are they Now? Evonne Goolagong, By John Roberts, 20 April 1993, The Independent
- ↑ Evonne Goolagong, Tennis Champion - 05.25.1998 - SI Vault .. ..whose '93 autobiography, Home! The Evonne Goolagong Story, was an Australian bestseller.
See also
- Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final
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