Black History Month: 6 Degrees of Connections
This week, we celebrate our history of trailblazing Black women who have dominated the sport of tennis.
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This week, BET.com honors several notable African Americans in sports, notably Black women in tennis. Praised for their powerful backhands, quick volleys and natural talent for the game, these athletes have made an impenetrable imprint during their time and on generations to follow. Let’s meet a few of these trailblazers.
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Any Black girl or woman today who ever picked up a tennis racket professionally has only one sister to thank, and her name is Ora Mae Washington. Washington was considered the “Queen of Tennis” in her day playing in the American Tennis Association from 1924-1937. She went on to win eight ATA National Crowns in women’s singles and became women’s doubles champion from 1926-1936. She also won mixed doubles titles in 1939, 1946 and 1947.
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If Ora Mae opened the door, Althea Gibson busted it open. Gibson was to tennis what Jackie Robinson was to Major League Baseball. In 1950, Gibson became the first African American to compete in the United States National Championships. She played at Wimbledon the next year becoming the first person of color to win a Grand Slam title six years later.
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By the end of her career, Gibson won 11 Grand Slam tournaments, and was named “Female Athlete of the Year” by the Associated Press. She was also inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.
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Zina Garrison followed in Althea Gibson’s footsteps by becoming the first woman to reach a grand slam final since Gibson did it some 30 years prior. Garrison went on to win three Grand Slam titles including the 1987 Australian Open and Wimbledon in 1988 and 1990.
Photo By (Photo by Antonin Cermak/Fairfax Media via Getty Images).
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Garrison also played tennis as an Olympian, winning both a gold and a bronze medal in the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea. Before retiring in 1997, she won a total of 20 titles and was ranked as high as #5 in the world.
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Speaking of the Olympics, Venus Williams is the ONLY female tennis player to win three gold medals. It’s just another part of an historic career that includes seven Grand Slam titles, including five at Wimbledon, as well as becoming the first female athlete to ever sign a multi-million-dollar endorsement deal. She also spent time as the #1 tennis player in both singles and doubles.
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Venus Williams is also a founding ambassador for the WTA-UNESCO Gender Equality Program. She is a past winner of the Best Female Athlete Award at the ESPYs and the NAACP Image Award.
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For most people, Serena Williams needs no introduction. Before retiring in 2022, Serena distinguished herself in the world of tennis. In the Open Era, she has won more Grand Slam titles than any man or woman with 23 all while holding the top spot as the #1 women’s tennis player in the world. In addition to the 23 solo Grand Slams, she has won 14 doubles titles with her sister Venus.
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Before retiring in 2022, Serena distinguished herself in the world of tennis. In the Open Era, she has won more Grand Slam titles than any man or woman with 23 all while holding the top spot as the #1 women’s tennis player in the world. In addition to the 23 solo Grand Slams, she has won 14 doubles titles with her sister Venus and has distinguished herself as an astute entrepreneur.
Photo By MICHAEL BRADLEY / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL BRADLEY/AFP via Getty Images)
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When Naomi Osaka won her first U.S. Open title in 2018, she became both the first player from Japan and the first of Haitian descent to win a Grand Slam singles title. She has since become the first woman since Serena Williams to win the U.S. Open and the Australian Open in consecutive years and has also spent time at #1.
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Throughout her career, Naomi Osaka has been an advocate for mental health and social justice issues. She won’t be playing in any tournaments in 2023 because she is currently pregnant with her first child with boyfriend, rapper Cordae.
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When Coco Gauff defeated Venus Williams in the first round at Wimbledon in 2019, she was only 15-years old. Currently ranked #4 in the world, Gauff was a finalist in the 2022 French Open. She also reached the French Open finals in doubles with partner Jessica Pegula.
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