Indigenous young guns look to follow in tennis great Goolagong's footsteps

For six Indigenous youngsters learning the finer points of tennis, this weekend's Davis Cup play-off between Australia and Slovakia is a special occasion.

The youngsters with Ian Goolagong

The youngsters with Ian Goolagong Source: SBS

Victory for Australia against the eastern European nation of Slovakia in this weekend's Davis Cup fixture will see it re-enter the World Group of tennis, which is made of the sport's finest nations.

The tie in Sydney also gives six young players from the Evonne Goolagong Foundation the opportunity to watch Australia's best players.

The group, which is made up of Trent Marlin, Adrian Foster, Corey Clarke, Krystal Clarke, Lily Bougoure and Tiarna Rowlatt, will take in the action as part of the Indigenous Young Leaders Camp.

Ian Goolagong, the brother of former female world No.1 player Evonne, hopes that the youngsters will aspire to play professionally.
The young players involved in the camp (SBS)
The young players involved in the camp (SBS) Source: SBS
"I did play with Evonne at Wimbledon so I'm the only Aboriginal male to play at Wimbledon ... we want to try and get another one," he said.

"We are excited for our third Indigenous Young Leaders Camp.

"I'm looking forward to meeting the kids and getting on court with them to help develop their skills ... and also seeing some good tennis at the Davis Cup tie against Slovakia."

Young gun Rowlatt said she couldn't wait to see some of Australia's top players in the flesh.

"I'm so excited I love Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt, yeah it'll be pretty cool to see them play."

Australia's Davis Cup Coach Tony Roach is confident the next Indigenous star can emerge from the camp.

"Let's hope that the kids learn alot this weekend watching our great champions and before long we'll have another Evonne Goolagong come along," he said.

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Published 15 September 2016 4:39pm
Updated 15 September 2016 7:55pm
By John Baldock


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