Coco Gauff, Taylor Townsend And Venus Honor Althea Gibson With Play

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 25: Venus Williams of the United States returns a shot against Karolina Muchova of Czech Republic during their Women’s Singles First Round match on Day Two of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 25, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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Coco Gauff, Venus Williams, and Taylor Townsend found the best way to honor Althea Gibson at the 2025 U.S. Open: by playing their way into the second week of the tournament.

Gibson broke the color barrier in tennis 75 years ago, and the U.S. Open is celebrating her legacy. Meanwhile, Gauff, Venus, and Townsend are living that legacy.

Gibson was the first African American to play at the United States Lawn Tennis Championships (now known as the U.S. Open). Gibson was the first black woman to win a Major title, the 1956 French Open. She was the first black woman to reach No. 1 and finished her career with five Major titles in singles, five in doubles and one in mixed doubles.

Gibson accomplished this in the 1950s, when Jim Crow laws were still in effect in the U.S.

The USTA is celebrating Gibson with the theme “75 Years of Breaking Barriers.” The perseverance and performance of Gauff, Venus, and Townsend are the perfect way to honor Gibson. Three black women, represent different stages of a professional tennis career — young rising star, resurgent veteran, and icon nearing retirement and they’ve been making headlines this week.

Venus, Coco And Taylor Represent Gibson’s Reign At No. 1

Venus was the first black woman to reach No. 1 in the Open Era. Townsend is the current No. 1 doubles player and Gauff could claim the No. 1 ranking at this U.S. Open, depending on what happens with Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

Tomorrow, Gauff faces Naomi Osaka, who represents Japan but also identifies as a black woman. Osaka is also a former No. 1.

Thirty-two years passed between the time Gibson won her last Major title and Zina Garrison reached the finals at Wimbledon in 1990. Garrison became the first black woman to reach a Grand Slam final since Gibson.

Serena Williams was the first black woman to win a Major title in the Open Era, when she won the 1999 U.S. Open. Since then, Gauff, Venus, Townsend, and Osaka have combined to win 13 Major singles titles, 17 Major doubles titles, and two mixed-doubles Major titles. Sloane Stephens, who won the 2018 U.S. Open, is providing commentary for ESPN. Madison Keys, the winner of the 2025 Australian Open, lost in the first round.

Gauff, Venus and Townsend are not just winning, they are succeeding in places Gibson could not. Gibson struggled financially and had difficulty finding sponsors. Gauff is the most marketable tennis player in the world. Venus is No. 2 on the career prize money list. Her sister Serena is No. 1. Townsend has her own line of clothing. Several brands sponsor Venus. Osaka was once the highest-paid female tennis player in history.

“Althea Gibson started all of this,” said Garrison, in an interview about Gibson’s legacy with KHOU 11 in Houston. “These people wouldn’t have even been able to walk through the front door, and now they’re kicking that door down.”

Venus Williams Honors Althea Gibson With Tennis Kit

Venus arrived on court for her first round match, in an all white outfit reminiscent of Gibson’s attire when she played.

“Everything this year is inspired by Althea, right? It’s a big year, and she’s an American champion,” Venus said at a post-match press conference. “I’m so happy that we’re paying homage to her, that people are getting to know her and her accomplishments, what that means for us, and how inspiring it is for every single person.”

Townsend Handles Ostapenko Insults With Gibson Grace

Part of Gibson’s biography includes overcoming racial discrimination. When Gibson first played at Forest Hills, New York and Wimbledon, she was not allowed to use the locker rooms. After her first win at the Open, Gibson hopped on the subway train and headed uptown, back home to Harlem.

Newspapers called Gibson the “Negro Girl” in bold print. Gibson endured many slights in silence. By repeating what Jelena Ostapenko said in a post-match interview, Townsend demonstrated that today’s black female players feel freer to speak up for themselves.

Ostapenko launched verbal attacks on Townsend following their second-round match, calling her opponent “uneducated.” Ostapenko claims her intent was not racist and instead a casualty of English as a second language. Townsend refused to assign intent to Ostapenko and chalked it up to sour grapes. Still, the exchange made headlines and demonstrated how far discourse about racism had come.

Venus and Serena boycotting Indian Wells, Gauff speaking out on police brutality, and Townsend taking a moment after her win over Mirra Andreeva to express how important it was for her to stand firm in who she was, to show the “real Taylor Townsend,” are examples of how Gibson’s graceful silence gave voice to today’s black female players.

“I think the understanding and the acknowledgement of the struggles that Althea Gibson went through and how she was able to pave a way for us now, in this day and age, I think that is very important to acknowledge,” Townsend said in an interview with Forbes.com. “But for me, personally, I’m carrying my own torch, and I’m doing that by being intentional with the way that I talk, the way that I walk, the way that I speak, the way that I carry myself, and hopefully inspiring other generations to be good humans and be good people, understanding that tennis comes and goes, but being a good person lasts forever.”

Althea Gibson’s Legacy Lives On In Week Two

Gibson died in September, 2003 at the age 76. A sculpture her sits out front of the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. An artistic representation of Gibson’s silhouette is on the cover of the U.S. Open tournament program. Images of Gibson are featured prominently on Arthur Ashe Stadium. However, nothing honors Gibson’s legacy better than Gauff, Venus and Townsend, featured on show courts at the U.S. Open.

In an interview with NBC News, journalist Laura Jarrett told Coco Gauff that there’s some little girl watching the US Open, and you could be her Althea Gibson.

“Win or lose, knowing that there’s, you know, at least one or two girls out there who look up to me,” said Gauff. “It makes me want to keep waking up and doing this every day and being the best version of myself.”