Celebrating Black History: Arthur Ashe
Never limiting himself to one title, Arthur Ashe was an author, activist, worldwide civil rights advocate, as well as a barrier-breaking tennis player.
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Ashe began his tennis journey at seven years old in the segregated Brookfield Park playgrounds near his home in Virginia. After advancing his skills for several years, he was introduced to Dr. Robert Johnson, the former coach of Althea Gibson.
In 1962, as the #5 ranked junior player in the country, he won the National Indoor Championship and received a scholarship to attend UCLA. While there, he won the 1965 NCAA Division I singles and doubles championship. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, Ashe joined the US Army in 1966 as a data processor and tennis coach at West Point. He was honorably discharged in 1969.
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In 1968, at 25 years old and while still enlisted in the Army, Ashe won the US Open as an amateur and led the Davis Cup Team to a championship. In order to maintain his amateur status for the Davis Cup, he did not receive his $14,000 US Open prize. He was the first Black man to win the US Open as well as the first Black man appointed to the Davis Cup team. He ended 1968 as the #1 player ranked by the US Lawn Tennis Association.
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Ashe’s second Grand Slam title came in 1970 with a win at the Australian Open; he was the first Black person to do so. In 1971 he won the French Open men’s doubles and won Wimbledon singles in 1975. He was the first Black man to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
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In 1969, Ashe applied for a visa to play in the South African Open, but was denied due to their apartheid policies. He campaigned for US sanctions against South Africa and their expulsion from the International Lawn Tennis Federation. In 1973, he was finally granted a visa to play in South Africa and won the doubles tournament and made it to the singles final match. He continued to support the banishment of apartheid throughout his life.
In 1979, Ashe suffered a major heart attack at the age of 36, requiring a quadruple-bypass. Though he used his visibility as a young, successful athlete to bring awareness to heart disease, he made the difficult decision to retire from tennis in 1980.
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With his retirement, Arthur was able to devote more time to social causes. He was arrested in 1986 for participating in an anti-apartheid rally at the South African embassy, and in 1992 he was arrested outside the White House for protesting the US government’s treatment of Haitian refugees. In 1988 his book, A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete, was published.
In April 1992, Ashe publicly revealed he had contracted HIV due to a blood transfusion. His death at the age of 49 came less than a year later, but in that time he finished his memoir, Days of Grace, founded the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, addressed the UN for World AIDS Day, and was awarded Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year.
Arthur Ashe’s posthumous legacy was also impactful: he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an annual ESPY award was created in his honor, and the US Open final matches are held in a stadium bearing his name. He was survived by his wife, photographer Jeanne Moutousammy-Ashe, and their daughter, Camera. In his obituary, he was described as “a beacon for future generations of Black tennis players.”
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Lauren is a writer, collector, Orlando Magic basketball fan, and artist. Her writing can also be found on Hobby News Daily. You can follow her at instagram.com/laurengoeshere.