Who was Althea Gibson? – Millennium Group

The answer would be that she was one of the most important athletes with the greatest social impact in the history of sports in the United States. in his biography I always wanted to be someoneAlthea Gibson reveals that she never considered herself a revolutionary, however she was.On August 22, 1950, she became the first African-American tennis player to participate in a national championship in the US and a few years later she would be the first to win a Grand Slam..

Born on August 29, 1927, in South Carolina, but raised in Harlem, NY, Althea had a habit of skipping school. With a rebellious personality, she decided to focus on sports to stay out of trouble. At the age of 15, he managed to conquer his first national tournament at the junior level in the United States and later won 10 consecutive championships from the American Tennis Associationan African-American organization that organized tournaments for the community.

Tennis was a sport, like a true reflection of society, segregated, black players just weren’t allowed to play, but Althea was responsible for breaking the color barrier in the 1950s by becoming the first to be accepted to play at Wimbledon. and in other great category events.

She considered retiring from the sport over discrimination, but thanks to Alice Mable, a former No. 1, who wrote a magazine article about the injustice towards Gibson’s talent, Althea finally began to be accepted. That if, despite the fact that she played, the deal remained the same, she couldn’t eat where her classmates ate and had to use the back entrance to the sports venues. He had an aggressive style of play and for decades his service was known as the best that had existed on the women’s circuit. He reflected great confidence and knew how to move and take advantage of the spaces on his side of the court.

In 1957 came the most important moment of his career, the conquest of Wimbledon and with it recognition. He had already won the French Open in 1956 and then came the singles title at the US National Championship, now known as the US Open. He did it twice, just like Wimbledon, results that They took her for two years to be No. 1 in the world. In 1958 she decided to retire after making the leap to professional life, However, there were not many earnings for women, so she decided to play golf, another sport that she also conquered. She entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971 and passed away in September 2003 from respiratory problems.

JR

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