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This Day in Sports History: Arthur Ashe Retires From Professional Tennis

Arthur Ashe's impact extended far beyond the world of tennis.

As an activist, he was a champion for civil rights and spoke out in the war on AIDS and HIV, the virus that took his life in 1993 at the age of 49. Some of Ashe's greatest achievements followed his 11-year playing career.

But he was also a remarkable tennis player. Ashe won his first Grand Slam title as an amateur at the 1968 U.S. Open, becoming the first African American to win a men's singles title at a Grand Slam Championship. He went on to win the 1970 Australian Open and beat defending champion Jimmy Connors for the Wimbledon title in 1975 in a match that became an instant classic. That year Ashe was ranked No. 1 in the world.

Ashe appeared in four other Grand Slam singles finals and won the Australian and French Open doubles titles. He also played on the U.S. Davis Cup team for 10 years.

Ashe's career was cut short after he suffered a heart attack while holding a tennis clinic in New York in 1979; he later underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He announced his retirement on April 16, 1980.

"I have decided from today on, to end my nonstop globetrotting odyssey in search of the perfect serve and retire from competitive tennis," Ashe wrote in a letter to his friends about retiring, per The Washington Post. "In its place, I hope to begin another exciting season of writing, talking, listening, reading and assisting."

During his retirement, he continued to be involved in tennis and served as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team. However, Ashe underwent a second heart surgery in 1983, and it is believed he contracted HIV when the virus was transmitted through a blood transfusion. Ashe initially kept his diagnosis private but announced it in 1992 after a newspaper reporter called him to ask about rumors about his health.

He worked to educate people on HIV and AIDS, battling the fear surrounding the virus. He started a $5 million fund-raising campaign and questioned the lack of government funding for research. 

"Talking to audiences about AIDS has become in some respects the most important function of my life," Ashe wrote in his memoir Days of Grace.

Ashe continues to be honored by the tennis community since his death in 1993. The stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., bears his name, and the U.S. Open holds Arthur Ashe Kids' Day annually to celebrate his life.