Althea Gibson became first African-American on US tennis tour on this day in 1950

Althea Gibson became the first African-American person to play at the US Nationals tennis competition on this day in 1950. According to reports, Gibson had a strong right-hand serve and she also had the ability to cover the court in a way others didn’t do as consistently. On August 22, 1950, the officials of the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) accepted Gibson into their annual championship at Forest Hills, New York, which led to her becoming the first black person to compete in the competition. 

Gibson was believed to be a natural athlete. She started playing tennis at the age of 14. In 1916 she won her first tournament, i.e the New York State girls’ championship, sponsored by the American Tennis Association (ATA), which was organised by black players as an alternative to the exclusively white USLTA. 

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It was after prominent doctors and tennis enthusiasts Hubert Eaton and R. Walter Johnson supported Gibson that led to her winning her first of what would be 10 straight ATA championships in 1947. In 1949, Gibson attempted to gain entry into the USLTA’s National Grass Court Championships, which is the precursor of the US Open. However, the USLTA failed to invite her to any qualifying tournament. 

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It took support from four-time US Nationals champion Alice Marble for Gibson to receive an invite. As per reports, Marble wrote a letter on Gibson’s behalf to the editor of the American Lawn Tennis magazine, criticising the ‘bigotry’ of her fellow USLTA members. Marble also suggested that if Gibson posed a challenge to current tour players, it is only fair that they meet the challenge on the courts. 

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First African-American to win French Open 

Gibson was then invited to participate in a New Jersey qualifying event, where she reportedly earned a berth at Forest Hills. In her debut, the African American player beat Barbara Knapp. She, however, lost a tight match in the second round to Louise Brough, who was then the three-time defending Wimbledon champion. 

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Two years later, Gibson became the ninth-ranked tennis player, and in 1956, she became the first black person to win the French Open championship in Paris. In the following years, Gibson won Wimbledon and the US Open at the relatively advanced age of 30. In 1960, she surprisingly also became the first black player to compete on the women’s golf tour. In 1971, she was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, after suffering from a long illness, she died in 2003 at the age of 76.

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