Was arthur ashe married
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Early Years
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was born on July 10, 1943, to Mattie Cunningham Ashe and Arthur Robert Ashe Sr., two middle-class African Americans living in strictly segregated Richmond. His mother died before he was seven, but not before teaching him to read at an early age. Small in stature, Ashe took to tennis from the age of four, mostly thanks to his father’s job as caretaker at Brook Field, one of Richmond’s Blacks-only playgrounds. The Ashe home was located in the middle of the playground.
When he was seven, Ashe was befriended by Ronald Charity, a gifted Black tennis player and coach. Charity took a keen interest in Ashe and taught him the nuances of the game. By 1953 it was obvious that the ten-year-old Ashe had talent but needed a mentor and coach. Enter Dr. Walter Johnson, a Black physician and tennis coach in Lynchburg who had discovered Althea Gibson, the “Jackie Robinson” of tennis and Wimbledon singles champion in 1957 and 1958. Johnson guided Ashe through youth tennis, entered him in amateur championships, and taught Ashe the composed- •
In 1968, the first year amateurs and professionals could compete against each other in major events, the US Open was won by Arthur Ashe, a man who enjoyed a storied career between the lines and a dignified life as an ambassador of equality and goodwill; a life that tragically ended in 1993 after he contracted HIV from a blood transfusion following heart bypass surgery.
Younger generations of tennis fans may only recognize Ashe’s name as the one that adorns the stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, NY, site of the US Open, or that starting in 1993 the USTA has kicked off the tournament with Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, a remembrance and celebration of the sport’s most elegant and thoughtful ambassador. Ashe rose from segregation and racial roadblocks to become the first African-American male to win the US Open (1968), Australian Open (1970), and Wimbledon (1975). In 1963 he was the first African-American chosen to play Davis Cup for the United States, and in ten years representing his country, helped the US win five championships (1963, 1968, 1969,
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Arthur Ashe
American tennis player (1943–1993)
For the British Columbia politician, see Arthur James Richard Ash.
Arthur Ashe, winning the 1975 ABN World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam | |
| Country (sports) | United States |
|---|---|
| Born | (1943-07-10)July 10, 1943 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | February 6, 1993(1993-02-06) (aged 49) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Turned pro | 1969 (amateur tour from 1959) |
| Retired | 1980 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $1,584,909 (ATP) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1985 (member page) |
| Career record | 1188–371 in pre Open-Era & Open Era[1] |
| Career titles | 87 [1] (44 open era titles listed by ATP) |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (May 10, 1976) |
| Australian Open | W (1970) |
| French Open | QF (1970, 1971) |
| Wimbledon | W (1975) |
| US Open | W (1968) |
| Tour Finals | F (1978) |
| WCT Finals | W (1975) |
| Career record | 323–176[a] |
| Career titles | 18 (14 Grand Prix and WCT titles) |
| High
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