Arthur Ashe

President Reagan greets Arthur Ashe (left) in 1982
Country	United States
Residence	Richmond, Virginia
Born	July 10, 1943 Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Died	February 6, 1993(1993-02-06) (aged 49) New York City, New York, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)
Turned pro	1970
Retired	1980
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,584,909 (according to the ATP)
Int. Tennis HOF	1985 (member page)
Singles
Career record	818–260 (in Grand Prix tour, WCT tour, and Grand Slam main draw play, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	35 (Grand Prix, WCT and Grand Slam)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1968, Harry Hopman)[1] No. 2 (May 12, 1976) by ATP
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1970)
French Open	QF (1970, 1971)
Wimbledon	W (1975)
US Open	W (1968)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	F (1978)
WCT Finals	W (1975)
Doubles
Career record	323–176 (in Grand Prix tour, WCT tour, and Grand Slam main draw play, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	18 (14 Grand Prix and WCT titles)
Highest ranking	No. 15 (August 30, 1977)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1977)
French Open	W (1971)
Wimbledon	F (1971)
US Open	F (1968)

Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American World No. 1 professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles, ranking him among the best tennis players from the United States.

Ashe, an African American, was the first black player ever selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. He retired in 1980. He was ranked World No. 1 by Harry Hopman in 1968 and by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and World Tennis Magazine in 1975.^[1][2] In the ATP computer rankings, he peaked at No. 2 in May 1976.

In the early 1980s, Ashe contracted HIV from a blood transfusion he received during heart bypass surgery. Ashe publicly announced his illness in April 1992 and began working to educate others about HIV and AIDS. He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia on February 6, 1993.

On June 20, 1993, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

Early life [edit]

Ashe was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Arthur Ashe Sr. and Mattie Cordell Cunningham Ashe. He had a brother, Johnnie, who was five years younger.^[3] In March 1950, Ashe's mother Mattie died from complications related to a toxemic pregnancy (now known as pre-eclampsia) at the age of 27.^[4] Ashe and his brother were raised by their father who worked as a handyman and was also a special policeman for Richmond's recreation department.^[3]

Ashe's father was a strict disciplinarian who forbade him to play football, which was a popular choice for many black children, due to Ashe's slight build. The Ashes' house was located on the grounds of Brookfield Playground, Richmond's largest blacks-only playground, which had a tennis court. Ashe began practicing on the court and learned a few basic strokes from another young player, Ron Charity.^[5]

Ashe attended Maggie L. Walker High School where he continued to practice tennis. Robert Walter Johnson would later become his coach. Tired of having to travel great distances to play Caucasian youths in segregated Richmond, Ashe accepted an offer from a St. Louis tennis official to move there and attend Sumner High School.^[6]

Young Ashe was recognized by Sports Illustrated for his playing.^[7] He was awarded a tennis scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1963. During his time at UCLA, Ashe was a member of the ROTC which required him to join active military service in exchange for money for tuition. After a 1966 tournament, Ashe joined the United States Army. Ashe completed his basic training in Washington and was later commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was assigned to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he worked as a data processor. During his time at West Point, Ashe headed the academy's tennis program. He was discharged from the Army in 1969.^[8]

Career [edit]

In 1963, Ashe became the first black player ever selected for the United States Davis Cup team. In 1965, Ashe won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) singles title and contributed to UCLA's winning the team NCAA tennis championship.

Arthur Ashe at the 1975 ABN World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam

In 1968, Ashe won the United States Amateur Championships against Davis Cup Teammate Bob Lutz, and the first US Open of the open era, becoming the first black male to capture the title. He also aided the U.S Davis Cup team to victory. He is the only player to have won both of these amateur and open national championships in the same year.^[9] In January 1970, Ashe won his second Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open. In September 1970 Ashe turned professional by signing a five-year contract with Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis.^[10] Concerned that tennis professionals were not receiving winnings commensurate with the sport's growing popularity, Ashe supported the formation of the Association of Tennis Professionals in 1972. That year proved momentous for Ashe when he was denied a visa by the South African government, and was thus kept out of the South African Open. Ashe used this to publicize South Africa's apartheid policies: in the media, Ashe called for South Africa to be expelled from the professional tennis circuit.

In 1975, Ashe won Wimbledon, defeating Jimmy Connors in the final. He also won the season ending championship WCT Finals. He played for a few more years, but after being slowed by heart surgery in 1979, he retired in 1980.

Ashe remains the only black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, or Australian Open. He is one of only two men of black African ancestry to win any Grand Slam singles title, the other being France's Yannick Noah, who won the French Open in 1983.

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and a world no. 1 player himself in the 1940s, ranked Ashe as one of the 21 best players of all time.^[11]

Retirement [edit]

After his retirement, Ashe took on many roles including writing for Time magazine, commentating for ABC Sports, founding the National Junior Tennis League, and serving as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team. He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985.^[12]

In 1988, Ashe published a three-volume book titled A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete,^[13] after working with a team of researchers for nearly six years.^[14]

Ashe was also an active civil rights supporter. He was a member of a delegation of 31 prominent African-Americans who visited South Africa to observe political change in the country as it approached racial integration. He was arrested on January 11, 1985, for protesting outside the South African embassy in Washington, D.C. during an anti-apartheid rally. He was arrested again on September 9, 1992, outside the White House for protesting on the recent crackdown on Haitian refugees.

Personal life [edit]

On February 20, 1977, Ashe married Jeanne Moutoussamy, a photographer he met in October 1976 at a United Negro College Fund benefit. Andrew Young, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, performed the wedding ceremony in New York City.^[15]

In December 1986, Ashe and Moutoussamy adopted a daughter. She was named Camera after her mother's profession.^[16]

Health issues [edit]

Ashe promoting heart health after his heart attack.

In 1979, Ashe suffered a heart attack, which surprised the public in view of his high level of fitness as an athlete. His condition drew attention to the hereditary aspect of heart disease. Ashe underwent a quadruple bypass operation, performed by Dr. John Hutchinson on December 13, 1979.^[17] A few months after the operation, Ashe was on the verge of making his return to professional tennis. However, during a family trip in Cairo, Egypt, he developed chest pains while running. Ashe stopped running and returned to see physician and was accompanied by his close friend Douglas Stein. Stein urged Ashe to return to New York City so he could be close to his cardiologist and surgeon.^[17] In 1983, Ashe underwent a second round of heart surgery to correct the previous bypass surgery.

In September 1988, Ashe was hospitalized after experiencing paralysis in his right arm. After undergoing exploratory brain surgery and a number of tests, doctors discovered that Ashe had toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease that is commonly found in people infected with HIV. A subsequent test later revealed that Ashe was HIV positive. Ashe and his doctors believed he contracted the virus from blood transfusions he received during his second heart surgery.^[18][19] He and his wife decided to keep his illness private for the sake of their daughter who was then two years old.

In 1992, a friend of Ashe's who worked for USA Today heard that he was ill and called Ashe to confirm the story. Ashe decided to preempt USA Today's plans to publish the story about his illness and, on April 8, 1992, publicly announced he had contracted HIV. Ashe blamed USA Today for forcing him to go public with the news but also stated that he was relieved that he no longer had to lie about his illness. After the announcement, hundreds of readers called or wrote letters to USA Today criticizing their choice to run the story about Ashe's illness which subsequently forced Ashe to publicize his illness.^[20]

After Ashe went public with his illness, he began to work to raise awareness about AIDS and advocated teaching sex education and safe sex. He also fielded questions about his own diagnosis and attempted to clear up the misconception that only homosexuals or IV drug users were at risk for contracting AIDS.^[18]

Ashe later founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS. Two months before his death, he founded the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health to help address issues of inadequate health care delivery and was named Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year. He also spent much of the last years of his life writing his memoir Days of Grace, finishing the manuscript less than a week before his death.

Death [edit]

On February 6, 1993, Ashe died from AIDS-related pneumonia at New York Hospital. His funeral was held at the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center in Richmond, Virginia on February 10.^[19] Then-governor Douglas Wilder, who was a friend of Ashe's, allowed his body to lie in state at the Governor's Mansion in Richmond. Andrew Young, who had performed the service for Ashe's wedding in 1979, officiated his funeral. Over 6,000 mourners attended.^[21] Ashe requested that he be buried alongside his mother, Mattie, who died in 1950, in Woodland Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.^[22]

On February 12, 1993, a memorial service for Ashe was held at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan.^[23]

Ashe's widow, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, continues with civil rights activism, most recently contributing a video to New Yorkers for marriage equality.

Career statistics [edit]

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline [edit]

¹The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
A = did not participate in the tournament
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

Grand Slam finals [edit]

Singles: 7 finals (3 titles, 4 runner-ups) [edit]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1966	Australian Championships	Grass	Roy Emerson	4–6, 8–6, 2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	1967	Australian Championships	Grass	Roy Emerson	4–6, 1–6, 4–6
Winner	1968	US Open	Grass	Tom Okker	14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	1970	Australian Open	Grass	Dick Crealy	6–4, 9–7, 6–2
Runner-up	1971	Australian Open	Grass	Ken Rosewall	1–6, 5–7, 3–6
Runner-up	1972	US Open	Grass	Ilie Năstase	6–3, 3–6, 7–6(5–1), 4–6, 3–6
Winner	1975	Wimbledon	Grass	Jimmy Connors	6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4

Doubles, 5 finals (2 titles, 3 runner-ups) [edit]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-Up	1968	US Open	Grass	Andrés Gimeno	Bob Lutz Stan Smith	11–9, 6–1, 7–5
Runner-Up	1970	French Open	Clay	Charlie Pasarell	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac	6–2, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	1971	French Open	Clay	Marty Riessen	Tom Gorman Stan Smith	6–8, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 11–9
Runner-Up	1971	Wimbledon	Grass	Dennis Ralston	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	4–6, 9–7, 6–8, 6–4, 6–4
Winner	1977 (Jan)	Australian Open	Grass	Tony Roche	Charlie Pasarell Erik Van Dillen	6–4, 6–4

Grand Slam, Grand Prix and WCT Tour titles [edit]

Singles (33) [edit]

No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
1.	August 1, 1968	U.S. Amateur Championships, Boston, USA	Grass	Robert Lutz	4–6, 6–3, 8–10, 6–0, 6–4
2.	August 29, 1968	US Open, New York City, USA	Grass	Tom Okker	14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
3.	January 19, 1970	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Grass	Dick Crealy	6–4, 9–7, 6–2
4.	September 28, 1970	Berkeley, California	Hard	Cliff Richey	6–4, 6–2, 6–4
5.	November 8, 1970	Paris, France	Carpet	Marty Riessen	7–6, 6–4, 6–3
6.	April 18, 1971	Charlotte, USA	Hard	Stan Smith	6–3, 6–3
7.	November 1, 1971	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard	Jan Kodeš	6–1, 3–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4
8.	November 8, 1971	Paris, France	Clay	Marty Riessen	7–6, 6–4, 6–3
9.	July 29, 1972	Louisville WCT	Clay	Mark Cox	6–4, 6–4
10.	September 11, 1972	Montreal WCT	Hard	Roy Emerson	7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3
11.	November 18, 1972	Rotterdam WCT	Carpet	Tom Okker	3–6, 6–2, 6–1
12.	November 26, 1972	Rome WCT	Carpet	Bob Lutz	6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6
13.	February 26, 1973	Chicago WCT	Carpet	Roger Taylor	3–6, 7–6(11–9), 7–6(7–2)
14.	July 23, 1973	Washington	Clay	Tom Okker	6–4, 6–2
15.	February 11, 1974	Bologna WCT	Carpet	Mark Cox	6–4, 7–5
16.	March 3, 1974	Barcelona WCT	Carpet	Bjorn Borg	6–4, 3–6, 6–3
17.	November 4, 1974	Stockholm	Hard	Tom Okker	6–2, 6–2
18.	February 17, 1975	Barcelona WCT	Carpet	Bjorn Borg	7–6, 6–3
19.	February 24, 1975	Rotterdam WTT	Carpet	Tom Okker	3–6, 6–2, 6–4
20.	March 10, 1975	Munich WCT	Carpet	Bjorn Borg	6–4, 7–6
21.	April 21, 1975	Stockholm WCT	Carpet	Tom Okker	6–4, 6-2
22.	May 7, 1975	Dallas WCT Finals	Carpet	Bjorn Borg	3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–0
23.	June 23, 1975	Wimbledon	Grass	Jimmy Connors	6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
24.	September 15, 1975	Pacific Soutwest, Los Angeles	Hard	Roscoe Tanner	3–6, 7–5, 6–3
25.	September 22, 1975	San Francisco	Hard	Guillermo Vilas	6–0, 7–6(7–4)
26.	January 7, 1976	Columbus WCT	Carpet	Andrew Pattison	3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
27.	January 12, 1976	Indianapolis WCT	Hard	Vitas Gerulaitis	6–2, 6–7, 6–4
28.	February 4, 1976	Richmond WCT	Hard	Brian Gottfried	6–2, 6–4
29.	February 17, 1976	Rome WCT	Hard	Bob Lutz	6–2, 0–6, 6–3
30.	February 23, 1976	Rotterdam WTT	Hard	Bob Lutz	6–3, 6–3
31.	April 17, 1978	San Jose	Carpet	Bernard Mitton	6–7, 6–1, 6–2
32.	August 7, 1978	Columbus	Clay	Bob Lutz	6–3, 6–4
33.	September 18, 1978	Los Angeles	Carpet	Brian Gottfried	6–2, 6–4

Honors [edit]

The Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2007 US Open

The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center, on the campus of UCLA

• In 1979, Arthur Ashe was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. In commenting on his induction, the Hall noted that, ”Arthur Ashe was certainly a hero to people of all ages and races, and his legacy continues to touch the lives of many today. For Arthur Ashe, tennis was a means to an end. Although he had a lucrative tennis career, it was always more than personal glory and individual accolades. He used his status as an elite tennis player to speak out against the moral inequalities that existed both in and out of the tennis world. Ashe sincerely wanted to bring about change in the world. What made him stand out was that he became a world champion along the way.”^[24]
• In 1985, Ashe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
• The city of Richmond posthumously honored Ashe's life with a statue on Monument Avenue, a place traditionally reserved for statues of key figures of the Confederacy. This decision led to some controversy in a city that was the capital of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.^[25]
• On June 20, 1993, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.^[26]
• The main stadium at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, where the US Open is played, is named Arthur Ashe Stadium in his honor. This is also the home of the annual Arthur Ashe Kids' Day.
• In 2002, Ashe's achievement at Wimbledon in 1975 was voted 95th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.
• In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Arthur Ashe on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.^[27]
• In 2005, the United States Postal Service announced the release of an Arthur Ashe commemorative postal stamp, the first stamp ever to feature the cover of a Sports Illustrated magazine.
• Also in 2005, TENNIS Magazine put him in 30th place in their list of the 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS Era.^[28]
• His wife wrote a book, Daddy and Me, a photographic journey told from the perspective of his young daughter. Another book, Arthur Ashe and Me, also gives young readers a chance to learn about his life.
• ESPN's annual sports awards, the ESPY Awards, hands out the Arthur Ashe for Courage Award to a member of the sports world who best exhibits courage in the face of adversity.
• Philadelphia's Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Center and Richmond's Arthur Ashe Athletic Center are named for Ashe.
• The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center at Ashe's alma mater, UCLA, is named for him. The center opened in 1997.
• He was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame in 1983.^[29]

Video [edit]

• Wimbledon 1975 Final: Ashe vs. Connors Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 30, 2007, Run Time: 120 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CTQ.

See also [edit]

Tennis portal

• Arthur Ashe Stadium
• Arthur Ashe Athletic Center
• Arthur Ashe Courage Award
• Arthur Ashe Kids' Day
• Levels of the Game, a432book by John McPhee, exploring the 1968 U.S. Open semifinal match between Clark Graebner and Arthur Ashe

Bibliography [edit]

• Ashe, Arthur; Clifford George Gewecke (1967). Advantage Ashe. University of Michigan: Coward-McCann. p. 192. Retrieved September 9, 2009. 
• Ashe, Arthur; Neil Amdur (1981). Off the court. New American Library. p. 230. ISBN 0-453-00400-8. Retrieved September 9, 2009. 
• Ashe, Arthur; Rampersad, Arnold (1993). Days of Grace: A Memoir. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-42396-6. 
• Ashe, Arthur (1993). A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African-American Athlete. New York, NY: Amistad. ISBN 1-56743-006-6. 

Further reading [edit]

• McPhee, John (1969). Levels of the Game. New York, NY: New York, Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 0-374-51526-3. 
• Robinson, Louie (1969). Arthur Ashe: Tennis Champion. Washington Square Press. p. 135. ISBN 0-671-29278-1. Retrieved September 9, 2009. 
• Deford, Frank; Ashe, Arthur (1975). Arthur Ashe: Portrait in Motion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-20429-1. 
• Weissberg, Ted; Coretta Scott King (1991). Arthur Ashe—tennis great. Demco Media. p. 109. ISBN 0-7910-1115-1. Retrieved September 9, 2009. 
• Collins, David (1994). Arthur Ashe: against the wind. Dillon Press. p. 128. ISBN 0-87518-647-5. Retrieved September 9, 2009. 
• Towle, Mike (2001). I Remember Arthur Ashe: Memories of a True Tennis Pioneer and Champion of Social Causes by the People Who Knew Him. Cumberland House Publishing. ISBN 1-58182-149-2. 
• Steins, Richard (2005). Arthur Ashe:a biography. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 103. ISBN 0-313-33299-1.  |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
• Mantell, Paul (2006). Arthur Ashe: Young Tennis Champion. Simon and Schuster. p. 224. ISBN 0-689-87346-8. 
• Henderson Jr., Douglas (2010). Endeavor to Persevere: A Memoir on Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Tennis and Life Kindle Edition. Untreed Reads. ISBN 9-781-61187-0398. 

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Arthur Ashe

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Arthur Ashe

• Official website
• Arthur Ashe Learning Center (AALC) Website
• Arthur Ashe at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Arthur Ashe at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Sports Illustrated Arthur Ashe tribute website
• Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health
• FBI files—Arthur Ashe is mentioned within six references of records maintained within FBIHQ main files concerning the Black Panther Party, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Revolutionary Union and two newspaper articles.
• Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Manayunk, PA
• UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center
• The short film Arthur Claims the Gold (1975) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Arthur Ashe at Find a Grave

Awards and achievements
Preceded by None	Player of the Year 1975	Succeeded by Björn Borg