The three-part ABC drama Goolagong opens with Ann Peebles singing "It's your thing – do what you wanna do!" as Evonne Goolagong (played by Lila McGuire) prepares for her first Wimbledon match. Goolagong, the first Aboriginal player to compete at Wimbledon, won the ladies' singles title twice (1971 and 1980), a doubles win in 1974, seven grand slams total, and was ranked world No. 1. The series, now on BBC iPlayer, is a flashback-heavy tribute that sometimes feels saccharine, with heavy-handed sequences like a teenage Evonne wandering through Wimbledon's corridors lined with portraits of past champions.
Childhood and Early Struggles
Young Evonne (Eloise Hart) is shown repeatedly hitting a ball against a wall with a plank of wood in rural Barellan, New South Wales. The series contrasts these idyllic scenes with darker themes, including financial abuse and sexual harassment by her coach, Vic Edwards (Marton Csokas). Edwards moves Goolagong from her impoverished Wiradjuri family to his Sydney home when she is 14, grooming her for sporting fame. Her mother warns, "When it stops being fun, come home," foreshadowing later events. After family tragedy and Edwards's manipulation, Goolagong declares tennis is "not fun any more."
Navigating 1970s Tennis Politics
The drama weaves in big issues of the 1970s: race, gender, and pay equity. Goolagong, portrayed as a clueless upstart, tells a journalist she would play for free if necessary, angering Billie Jean King and leading to ostracism by fellow players. McGuire delivers a believable performance as a defiant, determined, quirky woman. The supporting cast is strong, including Luke Carroll as father Kenny and Chenoa Deemal as mother Linda. The trans-hemisphere romance between Evonne and English journalist Roger Cawley (Felix Mallard) adds charm, though Edwards allegedly lied about not being invited to their wedding and unilaterally announced Evonne's retirement.
Tonal Unevenness and Finale
Goolagong struggles with tonal shifts. The final episode drags with forced tension around Goolagong's return to tennis months after giving birth to daughter Kelly in 1977, culminating in a miraculous recovery, family reunion, and second Wimbledon win. The series ends with a slideshow of the real Evonne, prompting a sense that a documentary or docudrama might have been more compelling. The closing notes reveal she runs a tennis charity supporting Indigenous children and has been married to Roger for 51 years. A moving clip shows her with McGuire waving to extras. While not smashing, Goolagong is a lovely tribute.
