Ace Evonne courts grass roots talent

The last Australian woman to win a Wimbledon singles title has introduced indigenous children to tennis in Bunbury.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who won on the famous English grass in 1971 and 1980, visited Bunbury Tennis Club on Friday to hold an introductory session, which could lead to some youth being selected for more opportunities.

"We're using tennis as a vehicle to create better education and health," she said.

"From our come and try days, we select several talented kids and if they attend their tennis lessons and stay in school, the reward is attending State camps and then our national camp at Monash University in Melbourne during the Australian Open."

Goolagong Cawley and husband Roger travel Australia to hold sessions for indigenous children through the Evonne Goolagong Foundation.

While it means she does not have much time to watch the sport she loves, she described her work as her "second dream" in life.

"I travel around so much with the foundation that I don't get to see a lot of tennis," she said.

"I achieved my first dream of winning Wimbledon and now I'm achieving my second dream of seeing as many indigenous kids playing tennis as possible."

A team of coaches - many of them former foundation students - teach the basics of tennis and one coach, Harrison Lee-Schell, said he was impressed by Bunbury's talent.

"The talent has been fantastic and kids are well-behaved compared to other towns," he said.

"There has been no lack of effort and four kids in my group looked very promising."