Arthur Ashe, on July 5, 1975, defeated Jimmy Connors and became the first Black man ever to win Wimbledon, the most coveted championship in tennis, but that’s not all there is to this tale of perseverance and making a break in a field where many had written him off.
Arthur started playing tennis at a very young age when he lived in Richmond, Virginia. Soon after he won a tennis scholarship to UCLA, he was noticed by Pancho Gonzales, a tennis star who saw his potential and mentored him.
Under Pancho Gonzales, his skills improved, and in 1968, Arthur became the first black to win the U.S. Open. In 1970, he won the Australian Open two years later, making it his second Grand slam title.
He kept winning tournaments for the next seven years; however, he didn’t win any major titles again. This inspired him to set his sights on winning Wimbledon, the most celebrated championship in tennis. He was past the ideal age at 31 to compete at Wimbledon, and despite this, he kept training to win.
When he advanced to the 1975 Wimbledon finals, it was shocking and not in any way expected in the tennis community. Arthur had had close shaves with victory at the Wimbledon as he had stayed till the semi-finals in 1968 and 1969.
Arthur, coming against Connor, who had faced him three times and won every time, decided to try an alternate strategy, never hitting hard. The plan was to serve powerfully and give Connor minimum effort, or junk as he described it.
This strategy meant that Arthur lost the first game of the first set to Connor. The rest of the sets were crazy as Connor and Arthur both won and lost some. Towards the end, it seemed like Connor had the upper hand, but shockingly, Arthur Ashe finished 6-4 in the fourth set, to a surprising court cheering him.
In 1980, after a heart attack, Arthur retired from competitive tennis. In his career, he won 51 tournaments. In 1983, he was infected with HIV during a blood transfusion after double bypass surgery. In 1992, he shared his ailment publicly and began educating people on HIV and AIDS.
He died of complications from AIDS on February 6, 1993, and in 1997, the U.S. Open’s new home court was named in memory of Arthur Ashe.
