New York City Bestows a Huge Honor on Hall of Fame Tennis Star Althea Gibson Ahead of US Open 2022

Althea Gibson was the first African-American player to compete in the US Open almost 70 years ago. Gibson was a tennis legend who broke the color barrier and also became the first African-American tennis player to compete in the Wimbledon and the U.S. National Championships, respectively. She was recently honored in the place she learned to play the sport, which she changed for good back in the 50s.

Over the years, Gibson’s ability to overcome hurdles on and off the court has inspired a lot of players, including Venus and Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, and Coco Gauff, who have attributed their success to her.

A great honor for tennis legend Althea Gibson

In honor of the Hall of Fame tennis player Althea Gibson, a street in Harlem was renamed after her. Althea Gibson way is the new name for the stretch of West 143rd Street between Adam Clayton Powell and Malcolm X Boulevards. Her family members attended the renaming ceremony.

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Young Gibson grew up and learned tennis in the streets of Harlem. She was good at all the games and sports that were available to her at that time. Meanwhile, she also clinched five Grand Slam championships. The biggest hurdle she passed was overcoming racial barriers to become the first African-American athlete to play at the US Open tournament.?

Althea Gibson became the first African-American woman to win the Grand Slam

Finally, Althea Gibson participated in the 1950 US Open following persistent lobbying by the American Tennis Association (ATA), the country’s first African-American sports organization (then called the United States National Championships). Thus, she became the first African-American competitor to compete in the tournament.

The very next year, she got an opportunity to participate in the Wimbledon Championships. Following that appearance, the tennis star made history by making her way to the quarterfinals in Flushing Meadows. Finally, Gibson made her?Roland Garros debut in 1956 and shocked everyone by winning the tournament. She defeated top seed Angela Mortimer in the final and made history by becoming the first African-American player to win a Grand Slam.

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Althea Gibson has been inducted into both the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame. Then, she was also listed in Sports Illustrated’s list of the “100 Greatest Female Athletes.”?