Who was the first African American tennis player to win the Wimbledon?

Born August 25, 1927 to a family living in the Harlem area, Althea Gibson was a troubled child. She grew up on welfare and had troubles in school and at home. She ran away often and appeared to be headed for a life of trouble. But she also played paddle tennis at a local recreation center. Her talents quickly became obvious as she won a variety of tournaments. She then caught the attention of musician Buddy Walker who took her to the Harlem River Tennis Courts where she learned to play tennis.

From there she won tournament after tournament and by 1942 was recognized as the champion of the American Tennis Association, an all black organization. She caught the interest of a wealthy South Carolina businessman who sponsored her throughout high school and paid for private coaching. In the 1950s she attended Florida A&M University where she graduated in 1953. She then went to work as an athletic instructor of Lincoln University in Missouri.

Although she continued dominating the black tennis league, competing against white players was out of her reach. Then Alice Marble a white tennis player wrote an article in "American Lawn Tennis" magazine calling out the bigotry and segregation. From there on Gibson knew no limits. She went on to become the first African American to play in almost any white tennis league in the world including Wimbledon. She went on to win this competition in 1957. She continued breaking barriers and winning championships throughout the rest of her life.