Continuing our celebration of Black History Month, here are 10 past and present African-American tennis players who have made a mark on professional tennis.
Althea Gibson
1927-2003
Gibson’s career began on the streets of Harlem where she learned to play paddle tennis and soon after became the New York City women’s champion. As a teenager she played her first tennis tournament under the American Tennis Association, the first-ever African-American sports organization. Her success in the ATA drew the attention of black tennis activists who helped her gain membership to the United States Tennis Association and become the first black woman to play in the organization’s National Indoor Championships. In 1950, she became the first black athlete, man or woman, to receive an invitation to what is now the U.S. Open. Six years later she became the first African-American to win a grand slam, claiming the French Open title. Gibson won a total of five grand slams and left behind a legacy as one of the first black athletes to cross the color line.
Arthur Ashe
1943-1993
Ashe grew up playing tennis in his native Richmond, Virginia, but moved to St. Louis, Missouri, during high school to train after he faced discrimination within the Richmond tennis community. Ashe had much success as a junior player, becoming the first African-American to win the National Junior Indoor Championships and receiving a scholarship to UCLA. At UCLA he won the NCAA singles and doubles titles as well as contributed to the team title. In 1963, he became the first black player to be selected for the U.S. Davis Cup team and in 1968 he won the first open era U.S. Open as an amatuer. He claimed three grand slam titles during his career. After his retirement from tennis, Ashe learned he was HIV positive. He then became active in raising awareness about AIDS and established the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe AIDS Tennis Challenge, now a kickoff event before every U.S. Open called Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day.
Zina Garrison
b. 1963
Houston-native Garrison rose to success quickly after winning the Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior titles at age 18. She turned pro the following year, where she advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open. Throughout her 15-year tennis career, Garrison made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open, finals of Wimbledon, semi-finals of the U.S. Open twice, and won a bronze medal at the Olympics. She reached a career-high singles ranking of no. 4 in 1989. After retirement, she coached the U.S. Fed Cup team and the U.S. women’s Olympic team, becoming the first African-American to hold those positions. She also founded the Zina Garrison Tennis Academy, which provides tennis instruction and educational programming to under-resourced children in the Houston area.
MaliVai Washington
b. 1969
Washington joined the pro ranks in 1989 after becoming the best college player in the nation as a sophomore at the University of Michigan. In 1996, Washington reached the finals of Wimbledon, making him the first black male to so do since Arthur Ashe in 1975. Washington’s second-best grand slam result was at the 1994 Australian Open, where he advanced to the quarterfinals. During his career, he won four titles and achieved a ranking-high of no. 11. He has also been recognized by the tennis community for his humanitarian efforts and was named Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Of The Year by the ATP. The former pro now runs the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, which offers academic and tennis programs to low-income youth in the Jacksonville area.
James Blake
b. 1979
After leaving Havard University to pursue professional tennis, Blake became the third black athlete to play for the U.S. Davis Cup team, following the footsteps of Arthur Ashe and MaliVai Washington. His first ATP tour title was a notable one as he won a doubles tournament at the Cincinnati Masters (now the Western & Southern Open), making him the first African-American to win any trophy throughout the event’s 103-year history. Blake also made runs to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in 2005 and 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. In 2008, he established a fund for cancer research in honor of his father, who passed away from stomach cancer when Blake was 25.
Venus Williams
b. 1980
Williams’ remarkable professional tennis career took off at the 1997 U.S. Open, where she reached the finals, losing to world no. 1 Martina Hingis. She was the first unseeded women’s finalist in nearly 20 years. Williams won her first grand slam at Wimbledon in 2000, and went on to win the event four more times over the course of eight years. Her career accolades have included two U.S. Open wins, 13 grand slam doubles titles with sister Serena, one Olympic gold medal in singles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles. In 2011, Williams was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that hindered her ability to compete and as a result her world ranking dropped to 105. In recent years she has learned to manage the disease, and at the 2015 Australian Open, she reached her first grand slam quarterfinal since 2010, much to the delight of tennis fans. Williams is also a successful entrepreneur, launching her fashion line EleVen in 2007.
Serena Williams
b. 1981
The current world no. 1 has had a tennis career second to none since turning pro in 1995. Williams has 19 grand slam singles titles to her name, is the oldest no. 1 player in WTA history, and has won more prize money in her career than any other WTA player. Her combined earnings of $66 million are nearly twice that of the second top-earning female pro. Largely considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Williams is fourth in the record book of WTA titles with 65 and third on the list of most grand slam singles titles.
Donald Young
b. 1989
Chicago-born Young is known for his successful junior tennis career, in which he became the youngest male to win a junior grand slam event at the 2005 Australian Open. That year 16-year-old Young also became the youngest player and first African-American to end the season at world no. 1 in the junior tennis rankings. As a pro player, Young made his best grand slam run at the 2011 Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round. He has a ranking-high of no. 38 and is currently ranked just outside the top 50 in the world.
Madison Keys
b. 1995
Keys got the attention of tennis fans when she beat Serena Williams during a World Team tennis match when she was just 14 years old. After making runs in the preliminary rounds of grand slams over the past few years, Keys had a breakthrough at this year’s Australian Open when she reached the semifinals as an unseeded player. She upset three seeds, including Venus Williams, before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. In an interview shortly before their semifinal match, Serena said of Keys, “It’s good to see another American, another African-American, in the semifinals playing so well.” When asked about the significance of being African-American and playing the Williams’ sisters in back-to-back grand slam matches, Keys, whose mother is white and father is black, said that she understood the significance but doesn’t identify as white or African-American. After her Australian Open success, Keys made her debut as a top-20 player in the WTA rankings and all eyes are on the 19-year-old for the 2015 season.
Taylor Townsend
b. 1996
Townsend is the former top-ranked junior player in the world and winner of the 2012 junior Australian Open. She reached the fourth round of the French Open in 2014, upsetting world no. 65 Vania King and 20th seed Alize Cornet along the way. She currently holds a career-high ranking of no. 96. Townsend is coached by Zina Garrison.
