Althea Gibson

Before Serena Williams, there was Althea Gibson. Althea Gibson is the first African American woman to compete at the U.S. National Championships in 1950 and Wimbledon in 1951.

Althea Neale Gibson was born on August 25, 1927 in Silver, South Carolina. Gibson moved to Harlem but her family struggled financially and was living on public assistance. She also struggled with school either in the classroom or by not going to school. The one thing Gibson did love was sports and really loved table tennis. Gibson began practicing and competing. Her friend Buddy Walker notice her skills and invited her to play on local courts.

She won several tournaments locally and was introduced to the Harlem River Tennis Courts in 1941. She played tennis for the first time and she won local tournament called American Tennis Association in a year. She would get two more ATA titles in 1944 & 1945 but lose the title in 1946. Gibson had won 10 championships straight from 1947 to 1956. She made history as the first African American tennis player to compete in U.S. Nationals and Wimbledon.

With her success, Gibson was able to attend Florida A&M University on a sports scholarship and graduated in 1953. After, she was struggling financially and thought about leaving sport and just joining U.S. Army. She was frustrated with sports industry because they were closed off due to the color of her skin. An article written by Alice Mable in American Lawn Tennis magazine, talked about Gibson being the best player and blamed tennis for denying her.

Gibson was sponsored by the United States Lawn Tennis Association in 1955. With the sponsorship, she was sent around the world for a State Department tour. She went to places like India, Pakistan, and Burma. She won the French Open in 1956. She also won Wimbledon and U.S. Open in both 1957 and 1958. Even with these wins, Gibson remain humbled by writing an autobiography in 1958 called “I Always Want to Be Somebody.”

She briefly played golf and became the first African American woman to compete on the pro tour. But playing golf didn’t last long because of the failures on the course. She eventually returned to tennis.

When Gibson returned to tennis, she tries to recreate her earlier success but was too old and slow to keep up with the other players. She retired in 1971 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1975, she began serving 10 years as a commissioner of athletics for New Jersey State and became a member of the governor’s council for physical fitness.

Gibson suffered a stroke and serious heart problems. She died on September 28, 2003. Because of women like Gibson, women like Serena can play and dominate tennis.