The champion tennis forgot: Before Ashe, before Serena, came Althea Gibson - How It All Played Out

Mark Pougatch and Paul Hayward bring you the story of Althea Gibson - don't worry if you've never heard of her, few have!

Arthur Ashe is a name immediately recognisable to every tennis fan - and most sports fans.

He was the first Black man to win the US Open, the Australian Open and Wimbledon - and the largest tennis stadium in the world, the US Open main court, is named after him.

But he wasn’t the first Black player to win a Grand Slam. That honour went to New Yorker Althea Gibson, who won the French open in 1956 - a whole decade before Ashe. She also won both the US Open and Wimbledon in 1957 and in 1958. 

So why isn’t Althea Gibson as well known as Arthur Ashe? Why doesn’t she have her name up in lights like his? What is her story?

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