At a glance
- Age
- 49
- Born
- July 10, 1943
- From
- Richmond
- Nationality
- United States
Biography
If you have come across his name attached to a line about starting where you are, or about doing what you can with what you have, the man behind it spent his working life on a tennis court. Arthur Ashe was an American professional player, born in Richmond in 1943, and the record he left is narrow but unmatched: he remains the only Black man to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open.
The wider tally was three Grand Slam singles titles and two in doubles. He was also the first Black player picked for the United States Davis Cup team — a selection that came before any of those major wins could be pointed to as justification. Alongside the tennis he held a commission as a military officer.
He stopped competing in 1980 and died in 1993, at 49. What tends to be quoted from him now is not match commentary but the plainer stuff about effort and circumstance, which carries weight partly because of how few people had walked the ground he walked when he said it.
The wider tally was three Grand Slam singles titles and two in doubles. He was also the first Black player picked for the United States Davis Cup team — a selection that came before any of those major wins could be pointed to as justification. Alongside the tennis he held a commission as a military officer.
He stopped competing in 1980 and died in 1993, at 49. What tends to be quoted from him now is not match commentary but the plainer stuff about effort and circumstance, which carries weight partly because of how few people had walked the ground he walked when he said it.
