USTA Celebrates Althea Gibson’s Life And Legacy

The US Open celebrated the life and legacy of tennis legend Althea Gibson with a tribute Sunday on the Fan Week stage at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The tribute, which commemorated Gibson’s birthday and the fifth anniversary of her statue being unveiled outside Arthur Ashe Stadium, included a special dance performance by youth from the National Dance Institute and remarks from Michelle Curry, the administrator of Gibson’s estate and chief operating officer of the Althea Gibson Community Tennis Association along with former USTA President Katrina Adams.

In 1950, Gibson broke the color barrier in tennis by becoming the first African American to compete in the U.S. National Championships. She won 11 major titles combined in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

In 2022, publishing company New Chapter Press republished her autobiography “I Always Wanted To Be Somebody” which can be purchased here: https://a.co/d/8UoiUg4

The book was an early inspiration for Billie Jean King, whose media interview about Gibson when the Gibson statue was unveiled inspired the republishing of the book, which you can hear about here: https://youtu.be/V5tnq8ESy7Y?si=OJfBgn2GfULZJx4D