ITF

P R O F I L E 10 ITFWorld // SPRING 2018 "She's an absolute legend of Australian tennis, and tennis in general, and we're extremely fortunate to have someone like Evonne" A S H L E I G H B A R T Y "I was always so excited about playing, and it gave me joy just to be there. I thought I was the luckiest person in the world just to be out on that court. Just to get over homesickness, to get over not being taken away. I had to hide under the bed during the Stolen Generation time – whenever a shiny car came down the road my mum used to say, 'You'd better run and hide, the welfare men will take you away.' It was pretty scary." "That's why I think this is something that I was meant to do. I've overcome all those obstacles to get here." Typically, the winner of four Australian Opens, two Wimbledons and one French title finds humour in the fact that a Trivial Pursuit question asks which two players have lost four US Open finals. The other is Bjorn Borg. "But I did it better than him," she quips. "I was consistent. I did my four (defeats) in a row." The second, in 1974 against Billie Jean King, felt like a victory, she recalls, because such was the quality and variety of the grass-court tennis that after one exceptional rally, the Australian noticed goosebumps on her arm. For one of the sport's deceptively powerful artists, armed with a home-made backhand volley, it was never just about the result. Speaking to children at a Come & Try Day in Queensland CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Australian Open champion 1974-76, 1977 (Dec) Roland Garros champion 1971 Wimbledon champion 1971, 1980 6 Grand Slam doubles titles 1 Grand Slam mixed doubles title Fed Cup titles 1971, 1973-74 Fed Cup Captain 2002-04

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