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Althea Gibson No player has ever had to overcome more obstacles than Althea Gibson, the first black winner at Wimbledon and Forest Hills in the 1950s, who, through segregation may well have come to prominence earlier than she did in a career with 11 Grand Slam titles.
Ten years later Arthur Ashe would experience the same problems in the men's game, but it was Gibson who had laid the foundations on which the United States Tennis Association (USTA) acted to let their leading player into the tournaments. Gibson was 23 when she played her first U.S. Championships and 30 years old in 1957 when she won the first of two successive Championships. The right-hander was a big hitter was an awesome serve, who liked to attack but developed a consistency from the baseline, which allowed her to vary her game. Her family were very poor and it was an American physician who was active in the black tennis community who encouraged her and later Ashe to play the game. Gibson was born in Harlem on the 25th August 1927 and it was Dr Walter Johnson who gave her better coaching and contacts through the U.S.T.A. to recognise her on the American tennis scene. Her entry in the 1950 U.S. Championships was historic as Gibson lost to Louise Brough, reigning Wimbledon champion in the second round 1-6, 6-3, 7-6. In 1956 she was accomplished enough to win the French Championships over Angela Mortimer 6-0, 12-10 and the Italian title on the slow clay. Barely a month later she became the first black to win at Wimbledon too, accompanying Angela Buxton to doubles success. In her third major final of the year Gibson appeared over-anxious as she lost to Shirley Fry 6-3, 6-4 at Forest Hills. A year later Gibson reached the Australian final only to lose, but mastered the knack of winning beating Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2 at Wimbledon and followed it up with a victory over Brough 6-3, 6-2 at the U.S. Championships. Now she was the beginning to be accepted in America as the world's number one female player. By 1957 as a general mark of acceptance she was selected to represent the United States in the Wightman Cup against Great Britain. She played for two years, winning both her doubles and three of her four singles rubbers. Having retained her Wimbledon and U.S. Championships crowns in 1958, including her third successive doubles crown at Wimbledon, this time with a young Maria Bueno, she finished the year as the world number one again and turned her back on the amateur game. A game in which she had never felt at ease in playing, feeling uncomfortable at some clubs where tournaments were played. Gibson played a long series of matches against Karol Fageros, a former number eight in the U.S., in association with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, but with little competition winning 114 of 118 matches, no women's professional circuit and a year's gate percentage of $100,000 she turned to professional golf and toured for a few years, like Ellsworth Vines had done 20 years earlier. Returning to the professional game in 1968 Gibson played a few tournaments without success. At 41 she was too old and took up coaching, while being married briefly. Grand Sam Record Australian Singles finalist 1957; Doubles winner 1957 French Singles winner 1956; Doubles winner 1956 Wimbledon Singles winner 1957-58; Doubles winner 1956-58; Mixed finalist 1956-58 U.S. Championships Singles winner 1957-58; Singles finalist 1956; Doubles finalist 1957-58; Mixed winner 1957 Tournament Record Italian Championships Singles winner 1955 United States Wightman Cup team member
1957-58
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