Breaking the Barrier

Just three years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, Althea Gibson, in 1950, followed suit when she became the first African American to compete in the U.S. National Tennis Championships.

She would later do the same at conservative Wimbledon before becoming the first black person to win both the U.S. Open and Wimbledon titles - in 1957 (and repeat the feat in 1958), a year after becoming the first black to win the French Open.

Possessing a solid serve and a penchant for an attacking style of play, Gibson, a 5-foot-11 right-hander, was exceptionally agile with superior foot speed, which allowed her to cover the court like a blanket.

As Gibson developed as a player she became more consistent from the baseline. She won 11 Grand Slam events, including six doubles titles that bolstered her candidacy in both the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.