Evonne Goolagong Cawley sent “little sister” Ashleigh Barty a message ahead of the Wimbledon final telling her that “dreams do come true”.

Fifty years after Goolagong Cawley’s first title at the All England Club and wearing an outfit inspired by that victory, Barty defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-7 (4) 6-3 to secure her first Wimbledon trophy.

She was the first Australian woman to hold the Venus Rosewater Dish aloft since Goolagong Cawley did it for a second time 41 years ago.

The two are very close and Barty became emotional when asked about her mentor during the trophy ceremony, saying: “I hope I made Evonne proud.”

“She certainly did,” said Goolagong Cawley from back home in Australia. “She made me proud from the first time I saw her.

“She must have been about 13 and she was playing at the Australian Open. Roger (Goolagong Cawley’s husband) and I saw one point where she showed all the skills. We both looked at each other and said, ‘She’s got it, she’s going to be our next champion’. Look at her now.”

Watching Barty’s victory brought back memories for Goolagong Cawley, who said of her win 50 years ago: “It didn’t hit me until later on because you actually turn numb, you’re in shock, just as Ash was at the end there.

“All the way through I had the feeling that she’s going to win,” said Goolagong Cawley. “This is her time. Somebody up there’s looking down on us I think.

“She’s a very proud Aboriginal woman also, and what a way to celebrate. I know a lot of people are happy for her but I’m sure there’s elders past and present who have got a big smile on their face today during NAIDOC Week.”

Goolagong Cawley has spent the last two decades running programmes for young indigenous people teaching both tennis and wider life skills.

“I remember when I was growing up there were Aboriginal kids that weren’t allowed in clubs, so we’ve come a long way,” she said. “Through our programme we’ve developed a few up-and-coming tennis players and now they have an even greater role model in Ash.”