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Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson was a pioneering American tennis player and professional golfer who broke racial barriers in sports.

Althea Gibson is one of 1262 people in the A–Z index, listed under A.

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Who is Althea Gibson?

Althea Gibson is best known for First Black athlete to win a Grand Slam tennis event and multiple Wimbledon and US Nationals titles. On Dead or Alive, Althea Gibson is listed in the Tennis Legends category, where you can test yourself on similar names. Dead or Alive is a trivia game: you decide whether a famous person is still alive, then see the answer. The status for Althea Gibson is checked against public sources such as Wikidata and is shown only after you answer.

Facts

Known for: First Black athlete to win a Grand Slam tennis event and multiple Wimbledon and US Nationals titles.
Listed under: Tennis Legends

About Althea Gibson

In 1956, she became the first Black player to win a Grand Slam event (the French Open). The following year she won both Wimbledon and the US Nationals (precursor of the US Open), 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. "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. At a time when racism and prejudice were widespread in sports and in society, Gibson was often compared to Jackie Robinson. "Her road to success was a challenging one," said Billie Jean King "but I never saw her back down." "To anyone, she was an inspiration, because of what she was able to do at a time when it was enormously difficult to play tennis at all if you were Black." said former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.

Text from the Wikipedia article Althea Gibson, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Sentences about life status are left out so the game is not spoiled.

Frequently asked questions

What is Althea Gibson known for?

Althea Gibson is known for First Black athlete to win a Grand Slam tennis event and multiple Wimbledon and US Nationals titles.

Which Dead or Alive categories include Althea Gibson?

Althea Gibson appears in Tennis Legends.

Is Althea Gibson still alive?

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