5 Surprising Facts About 2025 US Open Honoree Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson, the first African American to become tennis champion of the world by winning the Wimbledon match in England, waves from an open car during the parade up Broadway in the City’s official tribute to her, New York, New York, July 11, 1957. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)

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The 2025 U.S. Open theme, “75 Years of Breaking Barriers,” focuses on Althea Gibson, who in 1950 became the first Black person to play at the United States Lawn Tennis Championships (now the U.S. Open).

The USTA is honoring Gibson with a Marvel Comic Book, special events, artwork, tributes and by flashing images of her across court-side LED screens during matches.

“I’m really excited to go to New York and go to Flushing Meadows, to see, you know, all the things that the USTA is commemorating for Althea Gibson,” said Taylor Townsend, the WTA’s No. 1-ranked doubles player, in an interview with Forbes.com. “I think it’s long overdue to give her flowers. . .I think it’s also an opportunity on a huge stage and a huge platform to talk and give voice to not only the things that she went through and the things that she overcame, but her successes and highlight, how successful that she was.”

Winner of five Grand Slam singles and five doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title, Gibson was a trailblazer on and off the court. More than a pioneer in tennis, Gibson was a jazz singer, actress, educator, professional golfer, and author. The following are five surprising things about this year’s U.S. Open honoree.

1. Gibson First Black Woman To Get A Ticker Tape Parade

On a hot summer day in July 1957, a Chrysler parade limousine glides slowly up Broadway, roof down, chrome flashing in the sun. Althea Gibson sits high above the back seat, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd — 100,000 strong, packed shoulder-to-shoulder from Battery Park to City Hall — all to see the new queen of tennis.

Less than a week earlier, Gibson stood on Centre Court at Wimbledon to receive the Venus Rosewater Dish from Queen Elizabeth II. Now Gibson was being treated like royalty. The Mayor of New York, Robert F. Wagner, greeted Gibson at City Hall for a reception. Then, a motorcade took Gibson and her parents to a luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria, where they dined on vichyssoise, roast salt meadow lamb, pineapple surprise dessert, and mignardises.

“The everlasting memory of this day and the honors bestowed upon me will give me additional inspiration to wear the Wimbledon crown with honor and dignity,” Gibson wrote in a thank-you letter to the Mayor.

Gibson was the first Black woman celebrated with a Ticker Tape parade down the famed Canyon of Heroes.

2. Althea Gibson Was A British Newspaper Columnist

After retiring from amateur tennis, Gibson was a columnist for the London Evening Standard newspaper. In 1960, her second year as a guest columnist, Gibson was assigned a rookie reporter, Richard Evans. The reporter who had ghost written Gibson’s column the previous year, was unavailable.

Evans, a tennis journalist inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2024, was on the job for five days when his editor asked him to shadow Gibson and help her write the column.

While working with Gibson, Evans asked her to accompany him to the Wimbledon ball.

“I just thought, I mean, she was a champion. She’d been to the ball twice,” said Evans in an interview with Forbes.com. “And I said, is anybody inviting you to the ball? And she said, No. So I said, well, would you like to come with me?”

The ball was held at Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane. Evans and Gibson walked down a sweeping staircase into the vast ballroom.

“I didn’t think so much of it then, but looking back, a lot of the old LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) executive guys must have looked up and nearly swallowed their soup, because she was certainly the only Black person there,” said Evans. “I was unknown because I’d been writing tennis all the five days, no one knew who the hell I was, and here we were, this black and white couple walking down the vast stairs. Okay, so it must have been quite a sight, I suppose.”

On the way to the ball, Evans took Gibson to meet his mother, who he said had never had a Black person in the house.

“We had a great time,” said Evans. “And I danced with Althea, and then I realized just how tall she was, because with even a little bit of high heel, she was tall, and we had a great evening and continued working for the rest of the championships.”

3. Althea Gibson Was An Actress And Jazz Singer

After leaving amateur tennis, Gibson struggled financially and sought to capitalize on her name recognition.

“Being the Queen of Tennis is all well and good, but you can’t eat a crown. Nor can you send the Internal Revenue Service a throne clipped to their tax forms,” Gibson said. “I reign over an empty bank account, and I’m not going to fill it by playing amateur tennis.”

She left the game, bitter and struggled to make a living on the invitational pro circuit. In her book “So Much to Live For,” Gibson wrote:

“When I looked around me, I saw that white tennis players, some of whom I had thrashed on the court, were picking up offers and invitations. Suddenly it dawned on me that my triumphs had not destroyed the racial barriers once and for all, as I had — perhaps naively — hoped. Or if I did destroy them, they had been erected behind me again.”

So she tried other things. Gibson released a jazz album, featuring old standards and even performed on the Ed Sullivan show. She also appeared in a John Wayne film The Horse Soldier, in which she played a slave.

The singing and acting were short-lived. Gibson then tried another sport, golf.

4. Althea Gibson Was First Black Woman On LPGA Tour

The LPGA is celebrating its 75th Anniversary, this year. Gibson was the first black woman to join the LPGA. She took up golf when she attended Florida A&M University in the 1950s.

She began her professional golf career at age 37. Although she won no titles in the LPGA, between 1963 and 1977, Gibson played in 171 golf tournaments. She was among the LPGA’s Top 50 money leaders, for five years.

Gibson’s highest LPGA ranking was 27th in 1966. In 1970, she tied for second place after a three-way playoff at the Len Immke Buick Open in Ohio. Gibson retired from professional golf in 1978.

“Althea might have been a real player of consequence had she started when she was
young,” said LPGA Hall of Famer Judy Rankin, in an interview with the Ohio Golf Journal. “She came along during a difficult time in golf, gained the support of a lot of
people, and quietly made a difference.”

5. Althea Gibson Ran For Political Office In New Jersey

Gibson moved to East Orange, New Jersey in the early 1970s and was appointed Athletic Commissioner in 1976. She served as the state’s Athletic Commissioner from 1976 to 1988.

Gibson ran as an anti-establishment candidate for New Jersey state senate in 1977, challenging Democratic incumbent Frank Dodd, in the primary. She lost, in her first and only run for political office.

After her unsuccessful run for state senator, Gibson served on the Athletics Control Board until 1988, and the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness until 1992.

In 2019, the USTA unveiled the Althea Gibson sculpture at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open. Although she died in 2003, Gibson continues to garner tributes and statues. Last year, FAMU renamed a street “Althea Gibson Way,” in honor of the tennis legend. This fall, the U.S. Mint is set to issue an Althea Gibson quarter as part of the American Women’s Quarter program.

“I don’t think it’s ever too late to give someone their props, their flowers, or to celebrate them and the amazing accomplishments that they’ve achieved, especially a person like Althea Gibson, who literally is a trailblazer and someone who has made and paved the way for people like me,” said Townsend. “I see myself in her and in her experiences, and among black female players, to be honest, I see her influence living by more and more women of color and men of color being out on the pro tours.”