Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was a professional tennis player, born and raised in
RichmondRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States. Ashe, an
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, was the first black player ever selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man to ever win the singles title at
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, the US Open, or
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
. He is also remembered for his efforts to further social causes.
Early life and tennis career
Born to parents Arthur Ashe Sr. and Mattie Cordell Cunningham Ashe, Arthur and his younger brother, Johnnie, suffered a tragic loss when their mother died suddenly from heart related complications during routine surgery. Arthur Ashe first attended Maggie L. Walker High School, being coached by Ronald Charity, and later coached by
Robert Walter JohnsonRobert Walter Johnson was an American physician and founder of the American Tennis Association Junior Development Program for African American youths, where he coached and fostered the careers of tennis greats, Arthur Ashe and Althea Gibson.-Biography:Johnson graduated in 1924 from Lincoln...
. Tired of having to travel great distances to play
CaucasianWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
youths in segregated Richmond, Ashe accepted an offer from a
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
tennis official to move there and attend
Sumner High SchoolSumner High School, also known as Charles E. Sumner High School, is a St. Louis public high school that was the first high school for African-American students west of the Mississippi River. Together with Vashon High School, Sumner was one of the two segregated public high schools in St. Louis for...
. Young Ashe was recognized by
Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
for his playing.
Ashe was awarded a tennis scholarship to the
University of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(UCLA) in 1963. That same year, Ashe became the first black player ever selected to the United States Davis Cup team.
In 1965, Ashe won the
National Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) singles title and contributed to UCLA's winning the team NCAA tennis championship. While at UCLA, Ashe was initiated as a member of the Upsilon chapter of
Kappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
fraternity. Ashe was also a member of the UCLA Army
Reserve Officers' Training CorpsThe Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
(ROTC) and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant after completing camp at Fort Lewis, Washington in the summer of 1966.
In 1968, Ashe won the
United States Amateur ChampionshipsThe United States Amateur Tennis Championships was the top American tennis tournament for amateur players. It was organized by the United States Tennis Association....
against Davis Cup Teammate Bob Lutz, and the inaugural US Open and 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. Concerned that tennis professionals were not receiving winnings commensurate with the sport's growing popularity, Ashe supported formation of the
Association of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
. That year would prove even more momentous for Ashe when he was denied a visa by the South African government, thereby keeping him out of the South African Open. Ashe used this denial to publicize South Africa's apartheid policies. In the media, Ashe called for South Africa to be expelled from the professional tennis circuit.
In 1969, Ashe turned professional. In 1970, Ashe won his second
Grand SlamThe four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles title at the Australian Open.
In 1975, Ashe won
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, defeating
Jimmy ConnorsJames Scott "Jimmy" Connors is an American former world no. 1 tennis player....
in the final. He also won the season ending championship
WCT FinalsThe WCT Finals was a tennis tournament that served as the season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis circuit. The event was held annually in Dallas, Texas, and played on indoor carpet courts. The 1971 quarterfinals and semifinals were played in Houston, and final played at Moody...
. Arthur played for a few more years, but after being slowed by
heart surgeryCardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...
in 1979, he retired in 1980.
Ashe remains the only black man to ever win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, or Australian Open. He is one of only two men of
blackThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
African ancestry to win a Grand Slam singles title, the other being France's metis
Yannick NoahYannick Noah is a former professional tennis player from France. He is best remembered for being the last French man to win the French Open in 1983, and as a highly-successful captain of France's Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams...
, who won the French Open in 1983.
In his 1979 autobiography,
Jack KramerJohn Albert Kramer was an American tennis player of the 1940s. A World Number 1 player for a number of years, he is a possible candidate for the title of the greatest tennis player of all time. He was considered the father and the leading promoter of the professional tennis tours...
, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, ranked Ashe as one of the 21 best players of all time.
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 19771 | 1978 | 1979 | Career SR | Career Win-Loss |
AustraliaThe Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
|
A |
A |
W |
F |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
QF |
A |
SF |
A |
1 / 4 |
16–3 |
| French Open |
A |
4R |
QF |
QF |
4R |
A |
4R |
A |
4R |
3R |
A |
A |
0 / 8 |
25–8 |
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
|
SF |
SF |
4R |
3R |
A |
A |
3R |
W |
4R |
A |
1R |
1R |
1 / 9 |
27–8 |
| US Open |
W |
SF |
QF |
SF |
F |
3R |
QF |
4R |
2R |
A |
4R |
A |
1 / 10 |
38–9 |
| Win-Loss |
11–1 |
13–3 |
15–3 |
15–4 |
6–1 |
5–2 |
9–3 |
10–1 |
7–3 |
3–1 |
10–4 |
2–2 |
N/A |
106–28 |
| SR |
1 / 2 |
0 / 3 |
1 / 4 |
0 / 4 |
0 / 1 |
0 / 2 |
0 / 3 |
1 / 2 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 1 |
0 / 4 |
0 / 2 |
3 / 31 |
N/A |
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
Activities after retirement from professional tennis
After his retirement, Ashe took on many new tasks, 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. In 1983, Ashe underwent a second heart surgery. He was elected to the
International Tennis Hall of FameThe International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
in 1985. He also founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS.
Personal life
Ashe served in the US Army from 1966–68, reaching the rank of first lieutenant. On February 20, 1977, Ashe married Jeanne Moutoussamy, a photographer he had met four months earlier.
Andrew YoungAndrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
, the US ambassador to the UN, performed the ceremony at the UN chapel in New York City. Arthur and Jeanne adopted one child together, a daughter, who was born on December 21, 1986. She was named Camera after her mother's profession. Camera was only six years old when her father died.
In 1979, Ashe suffered a heart attack, an event that 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
bypassCoronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
operation, performed by Dr. John Hutchinson on December 13, 1979. 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 pain while running. Ashe stopped running and returned to see physician and close friend Douglas Stein, who had accompanied the family on the trip. Stein urged Ashe to return to New York City so he could be close to his cardiologist and surgeon.
In 1983, Ashe underwent a second round of
heartThe heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
surgery to correct the bypass surgery he received back in 1979. In 1988, Ashe fell ill and discovered he had apparently contracted HIV during the
blood transfusionBlood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
s he had received during his second heart surgery, which ultimately led to his death. He and his wife kept his illness private until April 8, 1992, when reports that the newspaper
USA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
was about to publish a story about his health condition because of his increasingly gaunt physical appearance forced him to make a public announcement that he had the disease. In the last year of his life, Ashe did much to call attention to AIDS sufferers worldwide. 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 IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine's
Sportsman of the YearSince its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...
. He also spent much of the last years of his life writing his
memoirA memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
Days of Grace, finishing the
manuscriptA manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
less than a week before his death.
Ashe died from AIDS-related pneumonia on February 6, 1993. Ashe is buried in
Woodland CemeteryWoodland Cemetery is a historically African American cemetery located in Northeast Richmond, Virginia. It is the second largest African American cemetery in the area, surpassed only by Evergreen Cemetery. The Cemetery was founded by the Richmond Planet editor John Mitchell Junior who designed the...
in Richmond, Virginia. His wife continues on with civil rights activism, most recently contributing a video to New Yorkers for marriage equality.
Civil rights leader
Ashe, the first African-American male to win a
Grand SlamThe four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
event, was 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 also arrested again on September 9, 1992, outside the White House for protesting on the recent crackdown on Haitian refugees.
Honors
- In 1979, Arthur Ashe was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame
The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a sports hall of fame located in Portsmouth, Virginia. Founded in 1972, it moved to its current location in 2005...
. 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.”
- In 1985, Ashe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
.
- After his death, Arthur Ashe's body lay in state at the governor's mansion in his home state of Virginia. The last time this was allowed was for Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
- The city of Richmond posthumously honored Ashe's life with a statue on Monument Avenue
Monument Avenue, in Richmond, Virginia, is a premier example of the Grand American Avenue city planning style. The first monument, a statue of Robert E. Lee was erected in 1890. Between 1900 and 1925, Monument Avenue exploded with architecturally significant houses, churches and apartment buildings...
, a place traditionally reserved for statues of key figures of the ConfederacyThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. This decision led to some controversy in a city that was the capital of the Confederate StatesThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
- In 1993, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
by President Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
- The main stadium at the USTA National Tennis Center
The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens and has been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament played every year in August and September. Operated by the United States Tennis Association since...
in Flushing Meadows Park, where the US Open is played, is named Arthur Ashe StadiumArthur Ashe Stadium, a part of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center located within Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens, is the main tennis stadium of the US Open, the last of each year's four Grand Slam tournaments, and also where the annual Arthur Ashe...
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
Molefi Kete Asante is an African-American scholar, historian, and philosopher. He is a leading figure in the fields of African American studies, African Studies and Communication Studies...
listed Arthur Ashe on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans100 Greatest African Americans is a biographical dictionary of the one hundred historically greatest African Americans , as assessed by Molefi Kete Asante in 2002.-Criteria:...
.
- In 2005, the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
announced the release of an Arthur Ashe commemorative postal stamp, the first stamp ever to feature the cover of a Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine.
- Also in 2005, TENNIS Magazine
Tennis Magazine is an American sports magazine owned by the Miller Publishing Group, LLC. It is a monthly magazine which covers news from the world of tennis.-History:...
put him in 30th place in their list of the 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS Era.
- 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
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's annual sports awards, the ESPY AwardsAn ESPY Award is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The first ESPYs were awarded in 1993...
, 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
The Arthur Ashe Athletic Center is a 6,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1982. It hosts locals sporting events and concerts...
are named for Ashe.
- The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center at Ashe's alma mater, UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, is named for him. The center opened in 1997.
- He was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame in 1983.
Singles: 7 finals (3 titles, 4 runner-ups)
| Outcome |
Year |
Championship |
Surface |
Opponent in the final |
Score in the final |
| Runner-up |
1966 |
Australian Championships |
Grass |
 Roy EmersonRoy Stanley Emerson is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He is the only male player to have won singles and doubles titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. His 28 Grand Slam titles are an all-time record for a male...
|
6–4, 6–8, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Runner-up |
1969 |
Australian Championships |
Grass |
Roy Emerson |
6–4, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Winner |
1968 |
US Open |
Grass |
 Tom OkkerThomas S. Okker is a former Dutch tennis player. He was ranked among the world's top 10 singles players for seven consecutive years, 1968–74, reaching a career high of world # 3 in 1969. He also was ranked World # 1 in doubles in 1969.-Tennis career:Okker was the Dutch champion from 1964 through...
|
14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Winner |
1970 |
Australian Open |
Grass |
Dick CrealyRichard Crealy is a former Australian tennis player most notable for reaching the finals of the Australian Open in 1970, being a member of the 1970 Australian Davis Cup Team and winning four Grand Slam titles in doubles....
|
6–4, 9–7, 6–2 |
| Runner-up |
1971 |
Australian Open |
Grass |
Ken RosewallKenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...
|
6–1, 7–5, 6–3 |
| Runner-up |
1972 |
US Open |
Grass |
 Ilie NăstaseIlie Nastase is a Romanian former professional tennis player, one of the world's top players of the 1970s. Năstase was the World No. 1 tennis player between 1973 and 1974 . He is one of the five players in history to win more than 100 ATP professional titles . He was inducted into the...
|
3–6, 6–3, 6–7(1–5), 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner |
1975 |
Wimbledon |
Grass |
 Jimmy ConnorsJames Scott "Jimmy" Connors is an American former world no. 1 tennis player....
|
6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4 |
Doubles, 5 finals (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
| Outcome |
Year |
Championship |
Surface |
Partner |
Opponents in the final |
Score in the final |
| Runner-Up |
1968 List of the 1968 US Open champions:-Men's singles: Arthur Ashe def. Tom Okker, 14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3*It was Ashe's 1st career Grand Slam title.-Women's singles:...
|
US Open |
Grass |
 Andrés Gimeno Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera is a retired Spanish tennis player. He major achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open....
|
Bob Lutz
Stan SmithStanley Roger "Stan" Smith is a former American tennis player and two time Grand Slam singles champion who also, with his partner Bob Lutz, formed one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world...
|
11–9, 6–1, 7–5 |
| Runner-Up |
1970 List of the 1970 French Open champions:-Men's singles: Jan Kodeš def. Željko Franulović, 6–2, 6–4, 6–0*It was Kodeš's 1st career Grand Slam title.-Women's singles: Margaret Court def...
|
French Open |
Clay |
Charlie Pasarell Charlie Pasarell, Jr. is a former Puerto Rican tennis player and commentator...
|
 Ilie NăstaseIlie Nastase is a Romanian former professional tennis player, one of the world's top players of the 1970s. Năstase was the World No. 1 tennis player between 1973 and 1974 . He is one of the five players in history to win more than 100 ATP professional titles . He was inducted into the...
Ion ŢiriacIon Țiriac is a Romanian former tennis player and businessman. He is also the current owner of the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open.-Sports career:...
|
6–2, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner |
1971 List of the 1971 French Open Champions:-Men's singles: Jan Kodeš def. Ilie Năstase, 8–6, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5-Women's singles: Evonne Goolagong Cawley def. Helen Gourlay Cawley, 6–3, 7–5-Men's doubles:...
|
French Open |
Clay |
Marty Riessen Marty Riessen played amateur and professional tennis in the 1960s and 1970s. He was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles on the ATP Rankings...
|
Tom Gorman
Stan Smith |
6–8, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 11–9 |
| Runner-Up |
1971 List of the 1971 Wimbledon champions:-Men's singles: John Newcombe def. Stan Smith, 6–3, 5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4*It was Newcombe's 4th career Grand Slam title , and his 2nd Wimbledon title.-Women's singles:...
|
Wimbledon |
Grass |
Dennis Ralston Richard Dennis Ralston is an American former professional tennis player. He attended the University of Southern California and won NCAA championships under their legendary coach, George Toley. He was coached in his earlier years by the legendary tennis player, Pancho Gonzales...
|
Roy Emerson Roy Stanley Emerson is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He is the only male player to have won singles and doubles titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. His 28 Grand Slam titles are an all-time record for a male...
Rod LaverRodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...
|
4–6, 9–7, 6–8, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner |
1977 (Jan) The 1977 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The tournament was held from 3 to 9 January 1977. Due to a scheduling change two Australian Open's took place in 1977 with the second taking place in December.-Men's singles: Roscoe...
|
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
|
Grass |
Tony Roche Anthony "Tony" Dalton Roche is a former professional Australian tennis player, native of Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title and twelve Grand Slam doubles titles. He is also very well known for coaching...
|
Charlie Pasarell
Erik Van DillenErik Van Dillen was an American male professional tennis player.Van Dillen won a single career title, the 1973 Nottingham Open Singles title, defeating Frew McMillan .-External links:*...
|
6–4, 6–4 |
Singles
| 1. |
August 1, 1968 |
U.S. Amateur Championships, Boston MA, 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 Thomas S. Okker is a former Dutch tennis player. He was ranked among the world's top 10 singles players for seven consecutive years, 1968–74, reaching a career high of world # 3 in 1969. He also was ranked World # 1 in doubles in 1969.-Tennis career:Okker was the Dutch champion from 1964 through...
|
14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 |
| 3. |
January 19, 1970 |
Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia |
Grass |
Dick CrealyRichard Crealy is a former Australian tennis player most notable for reaching the finals of the Australian Open in 1970, being a member of the 1970 Australian Davis Cup Team and winning four Grand Slam titles in doubles....
|
6–4, 9–7, 6–2 |
| 4. |
1970 |
Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
|
| 5. |
1970 |
Paris The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour...
, France |
| 6. |
1971 |
Charlotte - CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
, USA |
| 7. |
1971 |
Paris, France |
| 8. |
1971 |
Stockholm The If Stockholm Open is a tennis event on the ATP Tour held in Stockholm, Sweden in the end of October or beginning of November each year. The organizer of the tournament is The Royal Lawn Tennis Club of Stockholm....
, Sweden |
- 1972 – Louisville WCT, Montreal WCT, Rome WCT, Rotterdam WCT
The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the 500 series of the ATP Tour...
- 1973 – Chicago WCT, Washington
- 1974 – Barcelona WCT, Bologna WCT, Stockholm
- 1975 – Barcelona WCT, WCT Finals
The WCT Finals was a tennis tournament that served as the season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis circuit. The event was held annually in Dallas, Texas, and played on indoor carpet courts. The 1971 quarterfinals and semifinals were played in Houston, and final played at Moody...
, Los Angeles, Munich WCT, Rotterdam WCT, San Francisco, Stockholm – WCT, Wimbledon
- 1976 – Columbus WCT, Indianapolis WCT, Richmond WCT, Rome WCT, Rotterdam WCT
- 1978 – Colombus, Los Angeles, San Jose
Video
- Wimbledon 1975 Final: Ashe vs. Connors Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 30, 2007, Run Time: 120 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CTQ.
See also
- Arthur Ashe Stadium
Arthur Ashe Stadium, a part of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center located within Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens, is the main tennis stadium of the US Open, the last of each year's four Grand Slam tournaments, and also where the annual Arthur Ashe...
, New York, NY
- Arthur Ashe Athletic Center
The Arthur Ashe Athletic Center is a 6,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1982. It hosts locals sporting events and concerts...
, Richmond, VA
- Arthur Ashe Courage Award
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is an award that is part of the ESPY Awards. Although it is a sport-oriented award, it is not limited to sports-related people or actions.-List of recipients:-External links:***...
- Arthur Ashe Kids' Day
- Levels of the Game
Levels of the Game is a 1969 book by John McPhee, nominally about tennis and tennis players, but exploring deeper issues as well.The book is structured around a description of the semi-final match in the 1968 U.S...
, a 1969 book by John McPhee, exploring the 1968 U.S. Open semifinal match between Clark Graebner and Arthur Ashe
External links