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Althea Gibson

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American tennis player (1927-2003)

United StatesTennis PlayersLived 1927 to 2003 · aged 76
Compare
#214
among Tennis Players
Fame59.0
Momentum20.0
Languages30
In century#7,881

Althea Neale Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first Black player to win a Grand Slam event.

Also inDeutsch

Photos 7

Statue of Gibson by Thomas Jay Warren in Newark, New Jersey, near the courts (in background) on which she ran clinics for young players in her later yearsStatue of Gibson by Thomas Jay Warren in Newark, New Jersey, near the courts (in background) on which she ran clinics for young players in her later yearsGibson's 1956 Wimbledon doubles trophy, her first of three, and the first Wimbledon trophy won by an African AmericanGibson's 1956 Wimbledon doubles trophy, her first of three, and the first Wimbledon trophy won by an African American

Teams 1

United States Wightman Cup team1957-1958

Awards 10

2009New Jersey Hall of Fame
2004Silver Olympic Order
2001National Women's Hall of Fame
1999Florida Women's Hall of Fame
1995Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame
1991Theodore Roosevelt Award
1988Candace Award
1971International Tennis Hall of Fame
1958Associated Press Athlete of the Year
1957Associated Press Athlete of the Year

Connected to Althea 6

William HoldenAlso in The Horse Soldiers (1959)Richard AndersonAlso in The Player (1992)René AuberjonoisAlso in The Player (1992)Constance TowersAlso in The Horse Soldiers (1959)John FordAlso in The Horse Soldiers (1959)Gina GershonAlso in The Player (1992)

About this person

Althea Neale Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first Black player to win a Grand Slam event. The following year she won both Wimbledon and the US Nationals, then won both again in 1958 and was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years. In all, she won 11 Grand Slam titles: five singles titles, five doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title. "She is one of the greatest players who ever lived," said Bob Ryland, a tennis contemporary and former coach of Venus and Serena Williams. "Martina [Navratilova] couldn't touch her. I think she'd beat the Williams sisters." Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971 and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in 1980. In the early 1960s, she also became the first Black player to compete in the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

Country
United States
Category
Tennis Players
Type
Tennis Player
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1927 to 2003 · aged 76
Written about in
30 languages

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