Australian tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley makes a special trip to her town of Barellan in remote NSW on an episode of ABC program ‘Can We Help?’ this weekend.

Goolagong Cawley visits Barellan to meet a family that has watched her career very closely since she was a very young girl.

The program showcases the importance of sporting clubs in regional communities and reflects on Cawley’s career and how she began hitting up against a concrete wall with a small homemade wooden bat.

Producer Phillipa Hutchison said it was a great experience visiting country NSW to shoot this story.

“I was reminded of how close-knit rural communities are, not to mention the power of the ‘bush telegraph’.”

“Having the opportunity to meet and interview the Australian champion was wonderful for me. Evonne is a truly gracious and charming woman and is still very much connected to her home town. Her interaction with the kids from the local primary school who’d come to play tennis was gorgeous as she asked each child their name to work out if she knew their family.

“I know for Brian Templeton and his family who wrote into Can We Help? that meeting Evonne was an experience they will treasure always.”

Can We Help? featuring Evonne Goolagong Cawley will air on ABC1 on Saturday 19 March at 6:00 pm.