Meet the First Black Artist Commissioned by the US Open to Create the Tournament’s 2025 Theme Art
Black artists have made quite a few statements and historical milestones this year, and later this month, as the final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season gets underway, Melissa Koby will make another. Not only is her art the thematic visual for America’s most prestigious tennis tournament, the 2025 US Open, Koby is also employing the silhouette of one of tennis’s all-time greats, Althea Gibson.
Althea Gibson was the first Black tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles title in 1956, at what is now called the French Open, as well as the first Black player to win a US Championship (the US Open) in 1957, winning a total of 11 Grand Slam tournaments throughout her career.
Her sculpture is what you see as you approach the stadium named after Arthur Ashe — the first Black man to win a US Open tournament in 1968.
So it’s fitting that the artist commissioned to symbolize the 2025 theme using Althea Gibson’s likeness is a Black woman. Koby, the artist responsible for the “deeply powerful and dynamic theme art – a layered, silhouette profile of Gibson, incorporating iconic symbols emblematic of the US Open,” is the first Black theme artist in US Open history.
Koby had this to say about her process: "I wanted to create a piece that represents Althea as uniquely and beautifully as she deserves and also inspires a deep connection of representation with anyone who sees it.”
“Whether it be the layer of her playing tennis for an avid tennis-lover, or somebody who has ties to Arthur Ashe Stadium, or somebody who just loves really strong women in sports – I wanted to make sure that in having the honor and privilege of representing Althea for the US Open, I created a piece in which everyone can find a deep connection with her but also within themselves.”
According to the US Open, Gibson’s “courage and perseverance” was the inspiration for the 2025 US Open theme, “Celebrating 75 Years of Breaking Barriers. It honors Gibson breaking tennis’s color barrier at the 1950 U.S. National Championships.”
The theme will be celebrated and promoted throughout the entire US Open tournament, which takes place in Queens, NY, from August 18-September 7. A tribute to the history-making Althea Gibson will take place on Sunday, August 24, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Follow this link to get your poster of the theme art USOpen.org.
