Althea Gibson, Tennis Pro

hollyhock Gibson, Tennis Pro The life of althaea Gibson, a dominating lawn lawn tennis player in the 50s, was filled with successes that influenced the participation of African Americans in tennis, as well as leading the track for fe male tennis players by being the first black, male or female, to win a Grand Slam title. althea was born on August 25, 1927 in Silver, South Carolina, nevertheless was raised in Harlem where she had a less than opulent life. For recreation, Althea began playing table tennis at a unripened age. Buddy Walker, a musician, spy Altheas concern in the game and introduced her to tennis at the Harlem River Tennis courtyards. An energetic member in the tennis community named Dr. Walter Johnson also noticed Althea and invested his time and money into helping with her training. Dr. Johnson put Althea into offend competitions, as well as setting up contacts with the USTA to introduce her to the recognized tennis scene. In 1942, Althea entered and win her first tournament that was sponsored by the all-black African Tennis Association. cardinal twelvemonths later she moved to North Carolina to receive tennis training, and in 1947 she won the first of ten consecutive ATA womens singles championships.

Until 1950, Althea and other African American tennis players were only allowed to play in the ATA and could not compete against all white players. However, Althea was finally given the opportunity in 1950 to play in the Forest Hills National Grass Court Championship in New York, the first African American player of either sex to be allowed to enter. One year later she became the first African American to be invited to Wimbledon, the All-England Championships. These two tournaments would be the foundation for Altheas continuous maturation in the sport of tennis. She played in many more(prenominal) large tournaments and in 1956 she struck big at the French Open by taking home the gold. It only got better for Althea because in 1957 she won both singles and manifold at Wimbledon, as well as the US National... If you involve to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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