Acting against AIDS on and off the courts
AIDS appeared in the early 1980s and reached its epidemic peak in the 1990s. When the first international day against HIV was launched in 1988, stars and famous athletes rallied. In 1992, ex-World No. 2 Arthur Ashe, who won three Grand Slam tournaments in the 1970s –was at the front line of the movement. After he caught HIV in an open-heart surgery, Ashe knew his time was limited. Though his situation was getting worse, he kept appearing on the radio, on TV, and on tennis tournaments to make people aware of the risks of HIV and how it spreads through. He also launched the Arthur Ashe Foundation that year. It has raised millions of dollars for treatment research. Unfortunately, on 6 February 1993, the inevitable happened. Arthur Ashe died. A few months earlier, he had found the strength to talk about his foundation at the United Nations. When people asked him about where his inner strength came from, he always answered the same thing: “The right battle is the one you fight until the end".
