My goal is to share information and to educate. But am I an activist? No, no, no. I don't believe in pushing things on people.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley
I went to Willoughby Girls High, I finished my high school certificate and then I did shorthand and typing the next year. Then started travelling and never used it since.
I even opened a nightclub called Evonne's.
Racism is about education. Racism is ignorance.
I had a bit of a reputation as a tomboy.
I'm just tired of having to say 'cheese' all the time for the press.
I don't know whether I'm half, quarter or what. I just know I'm aboriginal.
Tennis, for me, every time I went out on the court, it just gave me such joy to play.
When we used the small-faced racquets and wood racquets, we had to use every part of the court.
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.
After I was fortunate enough to achieve my dreams on the court, I have done my best to, in turn, help young people achieve theirs.
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.
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.
Whenever a car would come down the road, my mum would tell us to hide 'or else the welfare man would take you away.'
I started by hitting balls against walls with an apple crate board.
I was protected from a lot of publicity and politics of life.
Anyway, when I get sorta tense and start thinking about every shot, that's when my game falls apart.
I always just thought of myself as a tennis player.
I certainly had a lot of fun during my career playing tennis, doing the thing I wanted to do and to do it well.
When I started I was pretty well the only Aboriginal player who was playing tournaments.
We couldn't afford anything. Suitcase, clothes, everything, Barellan people bought for me.
Neither winning nor losing means as much to me as knowing the crowd has enjoyed my match.
Some players feel that winning is everything and that losing is a disaster. Not me. I want the spectators to take home a good memory.
The white explorers had been my heroes. The Aborigines, I thought they were real savages. That was what I'd been taught and that's what I believed.
I remember I hadn't bought anything for my Mum for Christmas and I actually won an iron, so I was excited that I could take that home for her.
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.
Every time I hit the ball I would pretend I was on that magical court at Wimbledon. And then every time I went to sleep at night I would dream about playing at Wimbledon one day.
About three months after I had Kelly, I went and played in Canada. I felt great, I was ready to go and I was very energetic. But as soon as I started playing, I thought 'no, too soon.' I went back home and slept for two days.
It's wonderful being a mother playing anyway.
If you didn't have power, you had to have touch and serve and volley, which I found very exciting and that's why I love watching Federer play, because of those skills.
Well, Margaret Court was the first one, first professional woman - or maybe man - to actually take it into the gyms. She worked out on her body, she was very strong, very fast on the court.
When I went through some racism through my early days and I went back and told Mum... she said, 'Don't worry about that, they're just ignorant.'
Every time there was a shiny car, my mum must have worried it was the welfare people coming for her kids. We had no idea.
I was so hungry to learn my history, to really know who I was.
I was just feeling really down and didn't want to play tennis anymore and when I was feeling down like that, what helped me is that I went back to my culture. To walk the Earth.
I went through a tough time after leaving 'tennis.
When I was playing on the tour, I never really thought about the Hall of Fame because you're always thinking about your game and how you can do better.
Because I've had time off, I've learned to appreciate tennis more - to put something back into it.
I love to fish. I love the peacefulness of being around the water.
I have won a few trophies in my time but I have never had a major event name their trophy after me.
I used to say during my career that the biggest gift was having my children.
I know that from my own experience, after I had my daughter Kelly, I felt great. I just wanted to get back on that court.
When you say sorry it creates a better working relationship.
What happened to equal opportunity? Not just in tennis, but everything. It's something that Billie Jean King fought for and she played Bobby Riggs for that, and beat him.
I had to stay in school before I started travelling overseas.
I hated school.
Trees always remind me of Aboriginal people.
I hope that I am helping to create an understanding and an awareness of what happened to the Aboriginal people.
Nobody expected me to win Wimbledon. It was something to strive for.
