- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Evonne Cawley’s first dream came true when she won Wimbledon. Now her second dream is coming true, as she takes tennis to as many indigenous kids as possible.
The new dream started taking shape seven years ago when the winner of seven Grand Slam singles titles – four Australian Opens, two Wimbledons and one French Open – launched her national development camps to foster Aboriginal talent.
Now it is about to receive a major boost in the form of $1m in federal funding over three years, to be matched dollar for dollar by Tennis Australia.
It will enable Cawley to take tennis to thousands more indigenous kids around the country through “come and try” days, and to identify the best talent to feed into state camps and her national camps.
“My second dream is coming true,” said the NSW country girl from Barellan who defeated Margaret Court in an all-Australian Wimbledon final in 1971, then beat American Chris Evert there nine years later as a mother.
“We have had some great results,” she said on Tuesday at Sydney’s old White City centre court, where she not only won many a top-flight match but also sold programs as a 15-year-old Davis Cup usherette.
“We have been able to award indigenous tennis scholarships, we have five fully qualified indigenous coaches, as well as sport and rec officers.
“And of course education is the most important thing, as they have to stay in school as part of the program.
“Sport is a great vehicle for better education and jobs.
“From my own experience I know I was a very shy little girl.
“I found that when I played sport it gave me a lot more confidence in myself to speak to people because I wouldn’t say boo to anybody.
“We are using sport to help these kids achieve their dreams.”
Cawley was launching “The search for Australia’s well-worn Volleys”, an archive project to encourage Aussies to rummage in their attics and unearth every style of the iconic white-soled tennis shoe, once worn by 90 per cent of Wimbledon competitors including Cawley.
The 59-year-old had a brief centre court practice with husband Roger, still wearing Volleys but finding her modern-day racquet light years ahead of the wooden one she used to become world No.1 in 1976.
It was also a considerable improvement on her first “racquet”, which was all wood and no strings, cut from an apple crate by her shearer father Kenny when she was four.
*For more information on the shoe search visit facebook.com/VolleyAustralia
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.