The Open Era
Australia · born Griffith, New South Wales, 1951 · Wiradjuri · twice Wimbledon champion
All playersBack to the rankings
2
Wimbledon singles titles, 1971 and 1980
5
Wimbledon singles finals, 1971 to 1980
9
Years between her two Wimbledon titles
4
Australian Open singles titles, 1974 to 1977
Born in 1951 into a Wiradjuri family of eight children, Goolagong grew up in Barellan, New South Wales, and moved to Sydney in 1965 to be coached by Vic Edwards. In 1971, aged 19, she won the French Championships at her first attempt and then Wimbledon, beating Margaret Court in the final. She won seven major singles titles in all: two at Wimbledon, four at the Australian Open and the 1971 French. She helped Australia win the Federation Cup in 1971, 1973 and 1974, married Roger Cawley in 1975, and in 1980 became the first mother to win Wimbledon since 1914. In 2007 a review of the records showed that she had been world No. 1 for two weeks in 1976. She entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1988.
| Major singles titles | 6: Wimbledon (1971, 1980); Australian (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 8: Wimbledon 1972, Wimbledon 1975, Wimbledon 1976, Australian 1971, Australian 1972, Australian 1973, US 1973, US 1974 |
| Other grass singles titles | 30: Brisbane 4 (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974); Sydney 4 (1972, 1974, 1975, 1977); Auckland (New Zealand Open) 3 (1973, 1974, 1975); Chichester 2 (1978, 1979); Kent 2 (1978, 1979); Leicester (Midland Open) 2 (1970, 1971); Melbourne 2 (1971, 1977); Perth 2 (1972, 1973); ACT Championships (1969); Adelaide (1972); Adelaide (second edition) (1972); Christchurch (1971); Irish Championships (1972); Manly Seaside Championships (1969); Sutton (1971); Sydney (second edition) (1977); Welsh Championships (1970) |
| Major doubles titles | 6 doubles (Wimbledon 1, Australian 5) |
| Other grass doubles titles | 21: Auckland (New Zealand Open) 4 (1971, 1973, 1974, 1975); Sydney 4 (1972, 1974, 1975, 1977); Adelaide 2 (1972, 1974); Leicester (Midland Open) 2 (1970, 1971); Perth 2 (1971, 1972); Strathfield 2 (1969, 1970); Brisbane (1974); Eastern Suburbs Open (Coogee) (1970); Melbourne (1977); North Coast Championships (Grafton) (1969); Sutton (1971) |
| Wimbledon finals won | 1971: beat Margaret Court 6-4, 6-1. 1980: beat Chris Evert 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) |
| Wimbledon finals lost | 1972: lost to Billie Jean King 6-3, 6-3. 1975: lost to King 6-0, 6-1. 1976: lost to Chris Evert 6-3, 4-6, 8-6 |
| Wimbledon doubles | Won 1974 with Peggy Michel, beating Helen Gourlay and Karen Krantzcke 2-6, 6-4, 6-3; runner-up 1971 with Margaret Court |
| Wimbledon mixed | Runner-up 1972 with Kim Warwick |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Women's singles | |
| 1974 | Women's doubles | with Peggy Michel |
| 1980 | Women's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1971 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Margaret Court |
| 1974 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Peggy Michel |
| 1974 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1975 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Peggy Michel |
| 1975 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1976 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Helen Gourlay |
| 1976 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| 1977 | Women's singles Australian Open | |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1972 | Women's singles†New South Wales Open | |
| 1974 | Women's singles†New South Wales Open | |
| 1975 | Women's doubles†New South Wales Open | with Helen Gourlay |
| 1975 | Women's singles†New South Wales Open | |
| 1977 | Women's doubles†New South Wales Open | with Helen Gourlay |
| 1977 | Women's singles†New South Wales Open | |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1970 | Women's singles†| |
| 1971 | Women's singles†| |
| 1972 | Women's singles†| |
| Western Australian Championships | ||
| 1971 | Women's doubles†| with Margaret Court |
| 1972 | Women's doubles†| with Barbara Hawcroft |
| 1972 | Women's singles†| |
| Toyota Classic (Melbourne) | ||
| 1977 | Women's doubles†| with Betty Stöve |
| 1977 | Women's singles†| |
| Chichester | ||
| 1978 | Women's singles†| |
| 1979 | Women's singles†| |
| Christchurch | ||
| 1970 | Women's singles†| |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1970 | Women's singles†| |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1971 | Women's singles†| |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1972 | Women's singles†Irish Open | |
| Colgate International (Sydney) | ||
| 1977 | Women's singles†| |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"She didn't serve-and-volley, she would sort of saunter-and-volley."
The person behind the player.
Barellan, 1950s
She found tennis through a story in a girls' magazine about "a princess who goes to this magical place called Wimbledon." With a slat from an apple crate she hit rubber balls against walls and chimneys around a town where her family's house had no electricity.
Source: Sports IllustratedBarellan, 1950s
She first practised with a stringless racquet made from a fruit box and watched the game through the fence of the Barellan War Memorial Tennis Club. The club president, Bill Kurtzman, saw her there and invited her in to play. The Hall of Fame suggests her career might not have happened without that offer.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameWimbledon 1971
At 19 she met Margaret Court, the defending champion, in the final and beat her 6-4, 6-1. "To beat Margaret Court ... I was over the moon about winning," she said. Weeks earlier she had won the French Championships at her first attempt; Wimbledon made it two major titles in one summer.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameOn tour, 1970s
Her occasional lapses of concentration gave rise to the saying that Evonne had "gone walkabout", and she spoke about them without embarrassment. Margaret Court saw the other side of it: "She can be down love-40, apparently beaten, and she's still trying to hit winners."
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameWimbledon 1980
She beat Chris Evert 6-1, 7-6 in the final, with her husband and young daughter watching, and became the first mother to win Wimbledon since Dorothea Lambert Chambers in 1914. The nine years between her two titles matched the longest gap, set by Bill Tilden. She called it the crowning moment of her career.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameBarellan and after
As children she and her siblings hid under the beds when unfamiliar cars came by. Only later did she understand that this was linked to the removal of Aboriginal children from their families. After her mother's death in 1991 she set out to trace the family's past: "I was so hungry to learn my history, to really know who I was."
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