Althea Gibson

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A tennis club for African American players that hosted International Tennis Hall of Famers Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe is being honored with a historic marker. The marker will be dedicated Thursday at the site where the Algonquin Tennis Club was created in 1922 by the American Tennis Association, which was […]

Legendary tennis player Serena Williams said she is “honored” to be the second Black American woman tennis player to be featured on a Wheaties box. “In 2001, Wheaties paid homage to a true champion and an icon by putting her on the cover of a Wheaties Box,” she wrote on Instagram Tuesday morning. “Althea Gibson was the FIRST Black […]

Althea Gibson is best known as a pioneering tennis player who was the first Black player to win a Grand Slam title. Along with crossing the color lines in international tennis play, Gibson is also the first Black woman to join the LPGA golf tour. Born on August 25, 1927 in South Carolina, Gibson and […]

Robert “Whirlwind” Johnson is considered the Godfather of Black Tennis. The Lynchburg, Virginia physician was a tennis master who taught black tennis champions. Johnson’s sports career began at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he was an All-American running back. It was at Lincoln that he earned the nickname “Whirlwind” for his speed on the field. […]