Three of the biggest trophies in tennis. One Black man’s name on all of them — and to this day, he stands alone. Arthur Ashe remains the only Black man ever to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open or the Australian Open. Champions have come and gone for five decades since. Nobody has joined him.
Arthur Ashe Jr. was born on July 10, 1943, in Richmond, Virginia. In 1963 he became the first Black player selected to the U.S. Davis Cup team — the first door, kicked open early. But 1968 was the year he announced himself to history. Ashe won the inaugural U.S. Open, becoming the first Black man to win a major singles championship — and, still an amateur, he won the U.S. Amateur title the same year, a double no one has repeated.
He won the Australian Open in 1970. Then came the afternoon that defines him. On July 5, 1975, Ashe faced defending champion Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon — and out-thought him, dismantling the favorite with brains, patience and nerve to take the title. He was ranked world No. 1 in 1975 per the era’s expert rankings (his ATP computer peak was No. 2), and his career totals stand at 818 wins and 51 titles per ATP-era records.
A champion’s second fight
Ashe retired in 1980 with heart problems. During heart surgery, he contracted HIV through a blood transfusion. He announced it in April 1992 — and spent his final year the way he had spent his prime: in the open, on principle, building AIDS awareness and founding the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Even facing the end, his instinct was to build something that would outlast him and serve other people.
Arthur Ashe died on February 6, 1993, at just 49. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously that year. And his name now sits above the sport itself: the U.S. Open’s main stadium bears his name — the largest tennis stadium in the world. Every September, the best players on Earth walk into Arthur Ashe Stadium to chase a title he won when men who looked like him weren’t supposed to be there at all.
First Black man on the Davis Cup team. First Black man to win a major. Still the ONLY Black man to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open or the Australian Open singles titles. Some records get broken. His has become a monument — and a challenge, still waiting, more than thirty years after we lost him.
Join the conversation
Wimbledon, July 5, 1975 — Ashe out-thinking Connors. Where does that win rank among the greatest upsets you have ever seen, in ANY sport? And who do you think finally joins him on that list of three? Tell us below.
Source note: Arthur Ashe’s story — born July 10, 1943, in Richmond, Virginia; the first Black player selected to the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1963; winning the inaugural U.S. Open in 1968 as the first Black man to win a major singles championship, plus the U.S. Amateur title the same year while still an amateur, a double no one has repeated; the Australian Open title in 1970; beating defending champion Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon on July 5, 1975; ranked world No. 1 in 1975 per the era’s expert rankings, with an ATP computer peak of No. 2; remaining the only Black man ever to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open or the Australian Open; career totals of 818 wins and 51 titles per ATP-era records; retiring in 1980 with heart problems; contracting HIV through a blood transfusion during heart surgery and announcing it in April 1992; spending his final year building AIDS awareness and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health; dying February 6, 1993, at 49; receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously that year; and the U.S. Open’s main stadium, the largest tennis stadium in the world, bearing his name — is from Britannica, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and the UCLA Arthur Ashe Legacy.
