Althea Gibson, from tennis to politics
When asked if she saw herself as a figurehead of the Black American community, Althea Gibson used to say no. “I focus on myself and no one else,” she said in 1957 after winning the US Open. This triumph was quite symbolic in a still racially biased America. It was 30-year-old Gibson’s second Majors title after the French Open she won a year before –making her the first-ever Black American player to win a women’s Grand Slam tournament. She became an actual activist only after she retired –and won 56 titles. In 1973, she partnered with Pepsi to equip the poorest neighbourhoods of the big American cities with mobile nets and tennis equipment. For a short period, she coached Black American players Leslie Allen and Zina Garrison.
But she really left her mark as a local politician. In 1976, Althea became New Jersey’s sports commissioner; it was the first time that a woman took this position in the USA. She stayed in office for ten years straight. A tennis legend and a pioneer athlete, Althea, who refused to be a role model, became an inspiration for many men and women champions, like Serena Williams who paid tribute to Gibson after she passed away on 28 September 2003.
Althea made me happy and proud to be Black. She was a pioneer for tennis in general, not just women’s tennis
