In the early 1940s, Althea Gibson was plucked from the streets of New York by her play street director. A streetwise Gibson was turned over to Fred Johnson, the legendary one-armed professional at the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, for tennis instruction. She was soon winning ATA Girls’ tournaments.

Moving up to the Women’s Singles tournaments in 1946, Gibson lost a heartbreaker to Roumania Peters 6-4, 7-9, 6-3. Sitting in the stands were two black physicians, Dr. Robert Walter Johnson and Dr. Hubert Eaton, who shared a passion for tennis and a commitment to helping black players reach their potential. Seeing a talented individual who desperately needed structure in her life, they made a generous offer to Gibson. During the school year, she would live with Dr. Eaton’s family in Wilmington, North Carolina and attend high school. Gibson would live with Dr. Johnson and his family in Lynchburg, Virginia during the summer and receive instruction on his home court as well as travel to tournaments on weekends.

Under Dr. Johnson’s tutelage, Gibson returned to the ATA Nationals in 1947 and won the Women’s Singles Championship, the first of a record 10 consecutive ATA National titles.

Following her success at the 1948 ATA Nationals, Gibson longed for the chance to test herself against the world’s best at the USLTA Nationals at Forest Hills, an exclusively white location. Although Gibson had performed admirably in several indoor championships, she did not qualify for USLTA Nationals according to tournament officials. Gibson now needed to perform well at the outdoor tune-up events for the Nationals or else be considered “unproven.” The catch, of course, was that these “invitation only” events were held at private clubs and her applications to play were not likely to be accepted.

Working through the ATA, Bertram Baker and others pressured the USLTA to find a way to let Gibson compete at Forest Hills. Additionally, in the July 1950 issue of American Lawn Tennis, former world champion Alice Marble condemned the hypocrisy of the USLTA’s refusal to let Gibson compete. She correctly concluded that social changes would make the participation of people of color in the sport inevitable. Marble boldly confronted the ULSTA with the simple question, “Why not now?”

In response to rising public pressure, the Eastern Grass Court Championships and the National Clay Court Championships accepted Gibson’s application to their significant events. She performed well enough to secure an invitation to the Nationals. In 1950, Gibson became the first Black player, male or female, to play in the US Nationals at Forest Hills.

After playing at Forest Hills in 1950, Gibson’s performance on the courts seemed to hit a plateau. The major championships eluded her for the next several years. Coach Syd Llewellyn helped to straighten out her tennis mechanics and maintain focus on her goals.

In 1955, Gibson’s career reached a turning point. She was selected to join a State Department tour of Southeast Asia in its tennis exhibitions. Regular play against seasoned players, without the pressure associated with the major tournaments, allowed Gibson to experiment with strokes and strategy until she found the winning combination. The following year in 1956 Gibson won the French Singles Championship, becoming the first Black player to win a major singles title. She teamed up with Angela Buxton to win both the French Doubles and the Wimbledon Ladies Doubles. However, she was not invited to play in the U.S. National Doubles held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston.

In 1957, Gibson won the Wimbledon singles and doubles titles. Her return to New York from the tournament was celebrated with a ticker tape parade. At Forest Hills, she captured the U.S. National Singles title and became the unquestionable No. 1 female player in the world. Gibson defended her titles at Wimbledon and Forest Hills the following year.

In 1971, Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008.