I don't think of myself as being colored but of being Australian.
— Evonne Goolagong Cawley
There are about 100 Aboriginal communities in Australia, and I'm trying to visit as many as possible to learn as much as I can.
I can think of matches I played where I played one or two points perfectly, and that gave me a thrill.
I never think I'm going to lose.
I play better if the matches are tight.
I can't wear the same outfit twice without washing it. And tennis is a grueling occupation.
A man could and would wipe me off the court. I really feel that the male is naturally superior to the female in all endeavors.
Billie Jean King is the personality of women's tennis.
I first started out by hitting a ball against a wall when I was four.
I like to be nervous, as I push myself harder.
I don't want to talk about apartheid... I'm going to South Africa to play tennis and to see the country. That's as far as it goes.
I keep saying to myself, 'I'm in New York.' I've heard so much about it. It's big, isn't it?
I don't like rushing, just like to sit down and rest before a match. Half the time I don't even look at the draw.
I won Wimbledon when I was 19 and again after I had a child.
I've always had an obsession with rackets.
Now that my daughter is 9 and my son is 5, I'm starting to enjoy tennis more. I've been asked to play in the over 35s, and I may do that.
I hope that I am helping to create an understanding and an awareness of what happened to the Aboriginal people.
After I make some bad shots, it makes me bear down and concentrate more.
It's nice to be remembered.
My greatest high was to hit a ball well, to try to do it perfectly, to try different things, whether they came off or not.
Once in a while I'll drink a rum-and-Coke but that's all, and only once in a while.
I can't explain why I play belter when I am down. It's the challenge I suppose.
I'm just tired of having to say 'cheese' all the time for the press.
I'll get married when I'm sick of tennis.
I think how I'm playing, not who I'm playing.
I don't know whether I'm half, quarter or what. I just know I'm aboriginal.
I know how to get around London better than Sydney.
Mum and Dad have come to Sydney to see me off on the two trips to Wimbledon. Each time I thought I mustn't cry 'cos that'll start Mum off. Each time I really bawled, and then she started up.
I just have these lapses. Guess I'm stuck with it. But I play better when I get behind. I say to myself, 'Now I have to play well.'
In team tennis, when you're downed, you play harder because there are other people depending upon you.
You're not just playing for yourself but for your country, and that's nerve-wracking. It makes you work harder.
Of course, I'm trying to be No. 1.
In 1971, big tournaments were very new to me. I just thought Wimbledon was one of the other tournaments.
Trees always remind me of Aboriginal people.
People told me I made the game look easy and I didn't always look like I was trying my best, but I always was.
The most exciting match I ever played was the 1974 US Open final against Billie Jean King.
Concentration may be my weak point.
I know, everybody thinks that all Aussies love beer. I guess most of them do, but not me.
I think It would be quite fun to play Bobby Riggs.
Usually I have to leave parties early - just when the action is beginning.
Losing isn't bitter because it's temporary.
Anyway, when I get sorta tense and start thinking about every shot, that's when my game falls apart.
When I walk out on to the court and everyone is staring, sometimes I wonder how my legs will carry me out there. That's forgotten as soon as I start playing.
I love the atmosphere of shopping in London. Sometimes I just go into a boutique, not to buy but to listen to the music.
I'd much rather people knew me as a good tennis player than as an aboriginal who happens to play good tennis. Of course I'm proud of my race, but I don't want to be thinking about it all the time.
I like music and dancing.
When Kelly was born, I thought seriously about retirement. But I wanted to see if it was possible to mix being a mother with tennis and the two combined very well.
I guess I had that insecurity of missing out on the normal things that everybody else does. With all the traveling I was doing I felt I was leaving something behind.
It's nice to know you're improving and getting better.
Nobody expected me to win Wimbledon. It was something to strive for.
