This Day in History: Althea Gibson Becomes First African-American on US Tennis Tour

This Day in History: Althea Gibson Becomes First African-American on US Tennis Tour

This Day in History: , Althea Gibson Becomes First African-American on US Tennis Tour.

August 22, 1950.

Gibson was accepted by the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association into the annual Forrest Hills championship.

Six days later, Gibson would defeat Barbara Knapp in straight sets to clinch her first USLTA match.

It took Gibson a few years to find her footing on the tour.

Her first major victory came in 1956 at the French Open.

The next year, Gibson would command at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, winning the tournaments at the age of 30.

In the 1960s, Gibson also became the first African American to compete on the women's golf tour.

Elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971, Gibson died from illness in 2003 at the age of 76