With Wimbledon Win, Ashleigh Barty Continues Mentor’s Work

The top women’s player has long felt a deep connection with fellow Indigenous Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who won her first Wimbledon singles title in 1971.

WIMBLEDON, England — Long before Ashleigh Barty became a Wimbledon champion, Evonne Goolagong Cawley believed Barty could be a Wimbledon champion. “I do think it is possible for her,” Goolagong said in a 2017 interview in Australia. “She has a game that can give so many players a difficult time.” At that stage Barty was still outside the top 10 and still working her way back after her 17-month break from tennis to play cricket. But Goolagong Cawley, who won the Wimbledon singles title in 1971 and 1980, spoke from experience and also from the heart.