A Woman to Know: Althea Gibson
I'm playing tennis to please me, not them. — Althea
(image via Library of Congress)
Althea was a lot of firsts — the first black athlete to play at Wimbledon, the first woman of color to win a Grand Slam, and one of the first-ever inductees in the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. And yeah, she was a killer player — maybe the best ever.
As Serena's former coach said, "I think she'd beat the Williams sisters."
Add to your reading list:
I Always Wanted to be Somebody (Althea Gibson)
Althea Gibson: Young Tennis Player (Beatrice Gormley)
Read more:
Althea Gibson, a shy and awkward girl who had to fight herself as often as a hostile world (Sports Illustrated)
Althea Gibson's life is a prequel to Serena Williams's success (The New York Times)
Althea Gibson broke barriers (ESPN)
Althea Gibson timeline (PBS)
Statue of the first black woman to win Wimbledon unveiled in Newark Park (NJ.com)
International Women's Sports Hall of Fame (Women's Sports Foundation)
*~Thank you to Rachel G. Bowers for recommending Althea as a woman to know! Rachel does sports things online, so if you like sports things, follow her on Twitter.~*
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