African-American Grand Slam Tennis History

The Struggle for Acceptance

By: John R Williams

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 3 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech in which he spoke to the nation with these words. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” I believe that a similar statement should have been made in the 60’s by the tennis community. “One day tennis players will be judged not by the color of their skin, but the quality of their tennis abilities.” In the summer of 1960, little did I know that I would play a small part in the incredible journey that many African-American players endured in order to achieve the highest reaches of both amateur and professional tennis. Arthur and I would share a special connection during this turbulent period in American history which covers the years from 1956-2022.

This book contains the stories of legendary black Grand Slam champions starting with Althea Gibson. Although there are a multitude of top African-American professional players who helped pave the way for the black players that followed, this book will tell the stories of those who won Grand Slam singles titles. They include Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Sloane Stephens.

Most of the players in the above list have won multiple Grand Slams. The lone exception is Sloane Stephens who won the US Open in 2017. African-Americans have won a staggering total of 44 Grand Slam singles titles. Of those 44 titles, Serena has won 23. It should be mentioned that the only other black player to win a Grand Slam was the French player Yannick Noah, who won the French Open in 1983. Arthur Ashe, who discovered Yannick, while playing a tournament in Africa, is currently the only African-American male to win a Grand Slam.