Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe are two of the most prominent history makers of tennis. Former World No’s 1, King and Ashe were two of the biggest contributors in taking American tennis to heights. However, their dominance wasn’t restricted to the American tennis courts. Instead, the two gave a glimpse of their exceptional talents around the world.
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While Ashe died in 1993, King continues to be a prominent name in the tennis world. Yesterday, the 5th of June, King went back in time, recalling one of her most special Wimbledon victories which she shared with Arthur Ashe.
Billie Jean King recalls the 1975 Wimbledon victory
The year 1975 undoubtedly was a special year for the two. On June 5, 1975, both the players won the singles crown at the Wimbledon Championships. While it was the one and only Wimbledon title for Ashe, it was the 6th for Jean King. However, co-incidentally the Wimbledon crowns were the last singles Grand Slam titles for the two.
47 years later, yesterday, Billie Jean King, an active social media user, took to her Twitter handle, putting up a post; a throwback post?reminiscing the 1975 Wimbledon victory, and the celebrations that followed.
Uploading a photo of herself ball dancing with Ashe, she wrote, “47 years ago today, on July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first Black man to win a Wimbledon singles title. That same year, I won the Wimbledon women?s singles title, and we had so much fun dancing together at the ball.”
47 years ago today, on July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first Black man to win a #Wimbledon singles title.
That same year, I won the Wimbledon women’s singles title, and we had so much fun dancing together at the ball.#HistoryMatters
📷: Alamy pic.twitter.com/zZuKe619AF
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) July 5, 2022
King being one of the most prominent names in tennis, the post started in no time started gaining fan attention. While some praised the two players for their legacy, others walked down memory lane recalling their experiences of watching the two playing.
How did Arthur Ashe win his only Wimbledon title?
Being a prominent player of that time, Arthur Ashe entered the Wimbledon draw as the 6th seed. Opening his campaign with a win over Bob Hewitt, he went on beating Jun Kamiwazumi in the second round. Outplaying Brian Gottfried and Graham Stilwell in the third and the fourth round, Ashe booked his spot in the final 8.
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In the quarterfinals, he outplayed legendary player, third-seeded Bjorn Borg. Sailing over Tony Roche in the semifinals, Ashe booked a place in the finals against the top seeded player and the defending champion, Jimmy Connors. However, being in a dominant position, he got over Connors 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 to clinch his first and the only Wimbledon singles title.