Remembering the African American godmother of tennis: Althea Gibson 1927-2003

Black Enterprise, Sept, 2004 by Frances Clayton Gray, Yanick Rice Lamb

Venus and Serena Williams have dominated Wimbledon for four of the last five years. Venus won the Wimbledon title in 2000 and 2001 when she defeated Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin; and Serena won the Wimbledon title in 2001 and 2003 when she defeated her sister Venus both years in the final. The Williams sisters won the women's doubles competition in 2000.

This year, Serena, who made it to the Wimbledon final, was defeated by a Russian teenager, Maria Sharapova. Serena's loss ended the Williams sisters' four-year reign of overpowering other Wimbledon players. However, the first black person--male or female--to actually win at Wimbledon was Althea Gibson, who won both the singles and doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958, respectively. Thanks to her trailblazing efforts, hundreds of black tennis players have followed. The list includes Arthur Ashe, Zina Garrison, Malivai Washington, The Williams sisters, Chanda Rubin, James Blake, and others. In addition to these top-tier players, there are thousands of junior and amateur players throughout the country who are vying for a chance to be No. 1. As is well known in black sports history, Gibson was the first African American of either sex to break the color barrier in both national and international tennis tournaments at a time when prejudice and racism were pervasive. In 1951, she was the first African American invited to enter the all-English tournament at Wimbledon. She won the French Open in 1956.

Althea Gibson died last year, on September 28, 2003. This year, BLACK ENTERPRISE pays tribute to her efforts in the world of tennis by recognizing her first win at Wimbledon as published in the upcoming book Born to Win: The Authorized Biography of Althea Gibson, by Frances Clayton Gray and Yanick Rice Lamb (John Wiley & Sons; $24.95). A pioneer and trailblazer, we remember Althea Gibson.

Wimbledon was Althea's primary focus in 1957. She would go in fresh--not "overtennised." She would compete in only a few tournaments and only on grass; she wouldn't even defend her French title on the composition courts of Roland Garros Stadium. The ATA gave her a bun voyage party at Birdland, where she hobnobbed with more than 300 well-wishers, including Sammy Davis Jr., who played around with her on the piano. This time, the USLTA was paying her way to Wimbledon. Sydney Llewellyn drove her to Idlewild airport, and Buddy Walker came along for the ride Edna Mae Robinson, who met them there, tucked $20 into Althea's hand as they said good bye. Althea had checked her two bags, but she took her three tennis rackets with her an the Pan American Stratocruiser. "I didn't want anything to happen to them." Angela Buxton, who had invited Althea to stay at her flat in Paddington, was waiting with a friend when the plane landed in England. Buxton wouldn't be Althea's doubles partner at Wimbledon this year since she had sprained her wrist. Instead, she'd be broadcasting the matches on television. With the exception of the Queen's Club Tournament, Althea competed in all the Wimbledon warm-ups, capturing all the singles titles. "I was ruthless on the tennis court. Win at any cost. I became an attacker. If your first serve ain't good, VII knock it down your throat. It just so happened that I had the talent to win at another level instead of being the meanie on the tennis court."

"You got to know your opponent," she added. "You got to know their strengths, their weaknesses, see hew they move, what balls they don't like. Once I know this, they'd only see the ball at their weak points, not their strengths."

Confident that she'd take home the Wimbledon crown, Althea picked out an evening gown for the ball and wrote an acceptance speech Her opening match at Wimbledon was a tough one against Suzy Kormoczy of Hungary, but she won, 6-4, 6-4. In the semifinals, she defeated a local favorite, 16-year-old six-footer Christine Truman. "I was pretty excited. It was quite a feeling to be a Wimbledon finalist." Althea didn't let arty of the catcalls and jeering raze her. "I'll mess them up on the court, and then the joke will be on them," she responded. In a jubilant mood, Althea met up with two friends from the ATA, Katherine Landry and Dorothy Parks, both WAC captains in Germany, who were on leave to support her at the tournament. They reminisced over filet mignon and sherry at Le Couple, a French restaurant that Althea loved to visit when she was in London. She opted against hanging out later with them so that she could rest up for her big day.

July 6, 1957, was shaping up to be a unique day--sultry with heat and all abuzz since Queen Elizabeth II would be making her first visit to Wimbledon. The monarch usually opted for horse races over tennis matches. A spectator took advantage of her presence by approaching the royal box and displaying a banner about protecting the queen from warmongers. The queen simply smiled as a police officer and referee escorted the woman out of the area.

With the temperature hovering around 100 degrees, Wimbledon set a record for 1,071 fainting spells during the two-week tournament It was the kind of heat that can make a tennis player have an off day, but Althea welcomed it. "There is something about a hot, still day that brings out the best in your shots," Althea said. "The sweat seems to loosen your muscles and perfect your aim." It appeared to be working, as Althea won the first set. against Darlene Hard, a perky 21-year-old from Montebello, California, who had upset Louise Brough in the quarterfinals. "When I rushed the net, I got the volley. When I stayed in the backcourt and Darlene charged the net, I hit past her."