US Open to Honor Althea Gibson

NinjaPoodle · #1 09-07-2004, 01:34 PM

US Open to Honor Althea Gibson on Tuesday Night, September 7
Sunday, September 5, 2004

Link Here
On-Court Ceremony in Arthur Ashe(KAPsi) Stadium Pays Tribute to Legacy of "African-American Mother of American Tennis"

FLUSHING, N.Y., September 5, 2004 - The USTA announced that it will honor the legacy of Althea Gibson (AKA), the "African-American Mother of American tennis," with a special tribute at the US Open on Tuesday night, September 7 - the 46th anniversary of her second U.S. Championship. U.S. Fed Cup Captain Zina Garrison, John McEnroe, and the honorable David N. Dinkins are expected to be part of the ceremony hosted by Bud Collins. The matches begin at 7:00 p.m. and gates open at 6:00 p.m.

Gibson's social impact extended well beyond her significant accomplishments on the tennis court, becoming the first African-American to enter the U.S. Championships. Over an exquisite three-year period, she won 11 Grand Slams, including five singles titles -- two at the U.S. Championships in 1957 and 1958. A pioneer, Gibson blazed a trail for tennis players -- Arthur Ashe, Leslie Allen, Zina Garrison, Venus and Serena Williams -- and inspired countless others in all walks of life. Gibson died September 28, 2003 at the age of 76 in East Orange General Hospital.

"We look forward to celebrating the life of a remarkable woman who opened doors and opened minds," said Alan Schwartz, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA. "More than recognizing her significant on-court accomplishments, we intend to pay tribute to the social impact of one of the seminal figures of the 20th century."

"The legacy of Althea Gibson transcends tennis and sports -- as a person who broke down barriers to create opportunities for generations to follow in our sport and in life," said Lee Hamilton, Executive Director and COO, USTA. "On Tuesday night we celebrate her spirit and legacy of courage, fortitude, heart, desire, and excellence."

In conjunction with the on-court ceremony, the Althea Gibson Foundation will host a fundraiser on Tuesday evening at the USTA National Tennis Center.

NinjaPoodle · #2 09-07-2004, 01:39 PM

For those of you not familar with Ms. Gibson, check out this website

Althea Gibson

From Yahoo
Gibson, Althea (ălthē´) , 1927—, U.S. tennis player, b. Silver, S.C. In 1948 she won the first of 10 straight national black women's singles championships. She was the first black to play in the U.S. grass court championships at Forest Hills, N.Y. (1950), and at Wimbledon, England (1951). In addition to many international tournament victories, she won both the U.S. and English women's singles championships in 1957 and 1958. She retired from competition in 1958. In 1971 she was named to the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame.

NinjaPoodle · #3 09-07-2004, 01:55 PM

http://www.usta.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=36757

Angela Haynes: Circuit Player of the Week

6/3/03 6:22 PM

Birthdate: Sept. 27, 1984
Birthplace: Bellflower, Calif.
Residence: Compton, Calif.
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs.
Plays: Left-handed
Turned pro: November 2001

Angela Haynes of Compton, Calif., captured the first professional title of her young career last week, when she defeated No. 8 seed Alyssa Cohen of Parkland, Fla., 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-1, in the final of the Houston Pro Tennis Classic. Haynes, 18, who was playing in her second final in as many weeks, started off the $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event with the biggest upset of the tournament, eliminating top-seed Seiko Okamoto of Japan, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round. She then came from behind to win her next two matches against Neyssa Etienne of Haiti and Shikha Uberoi of Boca Raton, Fla., and notched a straight-sets victory over qualifier Olga Poutchkova of Belarus in the semifinals, before her win against Cohen in the two-hour, 25-minute final.

Haynes, who is in her first full year of competition on the USTA Pro Circuit, also posted excellent results at the $10,000 Terry Walker Memorial/Satellite Tournament of El Paso, Texas, the week of May 19, advancing to the final, where she lost to eighth seed Milangela Morales in a third-set tie-break, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4). She has won nine of her last 10 matches over the last two weeks.

2003 PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Captured the first professional title of her career at the $10,000 event in Houston… Upset top-seed Seiko Okamoto of Japan, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round en route to the final, where she defeated eighth-seed Alyssa Cohen of Parkland, Fla., 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-1.
Advanced to the final of the $10,000 Terry Walker Memorial/Satellite Tournament of El Paso, Texas… Lost to eighth seed Milangela Morales in a third-set tie-break, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4).
Qualified into the $75,000 event in Dothan, Ala., before losing in the first round to Akiko Morigami, 6-2, 6-3.
Qualified into the $25,000 event in Jackson, Miss., and advanced to the second round, where she lost to Kristina Brandi in straight sets.
Qualified into the $10,000 event in Tallahassee, Fla., and advanced to the second round, where she fell to eighth seed Petra Rampre, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4.
JUNIOR HIGHLIGHTS

Reached the semifinals of the Memphis Clay Courts in 2001.
Won the doubles title (with Ahsha Rolle) at the 2000 Van der Meer International Junior Tennis Championships.
Won the doubles title (with Nicole Pitts) and reached the singles semifinals at the 2000 Spare Time International Junior Tennis Championships.
Finished runner-up in doubles (with Rolle) at the 2000 Regional ITF Junior Tennis Championships – Baton Rouge.
PERSONAL

Father, Fred, is her coach. Has two older siblings: brother, Dante, plays tennis at the University of California-Irvine, and sister, Lamonica, works as an intern in Houston.
Began playing tennis at age 3 after her father and brother introduced her to the sport.
Is an all-court player with a strong backhand and serve.
Favorite playing surface is clay.
Favorite tennis player is Andre Agassi. Admires how physically fit he is.
Graduated in 2002 from the City of Angels, an independent study school in Los Angeles. Plans to attend college one day.
When not playing tennis, enjoys reading and playing on her computer.
After she retires from tennis, hopes to open a tennis academy or coach kids.

jojapeach · #4 09-07-2004, 09:30 PM

Dang, Soror! Are you a tennis fan? *teeheehee*

For real, thanks for the scoop. It's a shame it's taken this long to honor Althea Gibson, but it's about time. Also, I bet you've enlightened a lot of people about Ms. Angela Haynes.

NinjaPoodle · #5 09-08-2004, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jojapeach
Dang, Soror! Are you a tennis fan? *teeheehee*

Just a little..

NinjaPoodle · #6 09-09-2004, 12:50 PM

Link to story and photos

USTA Salutes Althea Gibson
by Glenn Minnis
Tuesday, September 7, 2004

The sultry night air stood still, suspended by the awe that bore the moment. The entire atmosphere, in fact, seemed filled with warmth and reverance, bringing about acts of emotion ranging from thunderous applause to quiet reflection.

And yet among the thousands upon thousands of fans that packed Arthur Ashe Stadium Tuesday night for the ninth evening of the US Open, what was happening appeared obvious. The spirit of Althea Gibson was there. Mind you, alive and well.

On a night when 22-year-old Serena Williams looked to move forward in earning her second Open title in the last five years, Althea Gibson, based on her barrier-breaking feats some 50-years before, was memorialized in a pre-game ceremony as the "African-American Mother of Tennis."

USTA Chairman of the Board and President Alan G. Schwartz, along with Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Lee Hamilton and Chief Executive of Professional Tennis Arlen Kantarian, unveiled a commemorative plaque celebrating Gibson's legacy.

"Althea is the reason we've all had a chance to make a life of playing the game we love," said Zina Garrison, who with advice from Gibson over the years was able to parlay a 15-year career into 14 singles titles, 20 doubles crown and nearly $5 million in prize money. "Venus, Serena (Williams), Chanda (Rubin), Angela (Haynes) -- it's amazing, even though she's no longer with us, she's still touching lives for the better. We are because of her."

And how ironic is that, given all the turmoil and struggle that often symbolized Gibson's existence. She was born in Silver, S.C., and moved to Harlem when she just three-years-old. At 14, she took up tennis and a year later was winning her first all-black American Tennis Association title, the only circuit she was allowed on compete on then. It would be another seven years before she would get her chance to play against white players for the first time, and another year before her first US National Championships (now the US Open).

In 1956, she won the French Championships, the first of her seven Grand Slam singles titles, even though she was still routinely being denied hotel lodging whenever she traveled. Against such a backdrop -- not to mention a mounting Civil Rights movement -- Gibson won 10 more titles before the decade ended. Among them were back-to-back National Championships and a Wimbledon crown.

"If Arthur Ashe climbed a hill, Althea Gibson climbed a mountain," Schwartz told Tuesday night's crowd, as a montage of clips featuring Gibson in action played on a huge overhead monitor.

"She overcame challanges unimaginable to me and I'm sure many others," added tennis legend John McEnroe, who was on hand for the ceremony alongside former New York City mayor, USTA Board of Directors Director at Large and lifelong Gibson friend, David N. Dinkins.

Even after she was done as a player, Gibson continued to trumpet the merits of athletics in the lives of women, serving as the New Jersey State Commissioner of Athletics.

"It's funny, Althea's the reason I wanted to play tennis but she's also one of the reasons I almost gave it up," Garrison recalled. "I remember when I was 14 and I went to work with her, she worked me so hard that I told myself I was done. I actually quit playing for about three weeks."

Clearly, that's the legacy of Althea Gibson: hard work, excellence, perseverance. In 1958, she penned her autobiography entitled "I Always Wanted To Be Somebody."

Althea Gibson can rest assured her words became gospel. There's a whole list of her followers to prove it.

SeriousSigma22 · #7 09-10-2004, 09:41 PM

Sorhors and Friends,

It's about time that more African Americans participated in White Collar Sports. It's also about time they were given the recognition for their talents.

Serioussigma22

Thanks Ninjapoodle for sharing these facts with us.

NinjaPoodle · #8 09-13-2004, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SeriousSigma22
Thanks Ninjapoodle for sharing these facts with us.

Always glad to share the knowledge

NinjaPoodle · #9 02-25-2005, 04:35 PM

Donald Young *w/picture*

www.usta.com

Young No. 1 in ITF World Junior Rankings
1/30/05 1:22 PM

Seeded No. 2, Young defeated No. 1 Sun-Yong Kim of Korea in the boys' singles final at the Australian Open, 6-2, 6-4, to become the youngest boy to win a junior Grand Slam title and the youngest boy to reach No. 1 in the history of the ITF World Junior Rankings.
** At the age of 15 years, 6 months and 7 days, he became the youngest boy to win a Junior Grand Slam since David Skoch of the Czech Republic won Wimbledon in 1992 at the age of 15 years and 8 months.

** On Monday, he'll become the youngest No. 1 in the rankings since Richard Gasquet of France who took over the top spot at the age of 16 years and 83 days in 2002.

** Donald is the first American to win the Australian Open boys' title and first to be ranked No. 1 in world since Andy Roddick accomplished both feats in 2000.

** Young and his partner, Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands, lost to Kim and Chu-Huam Ye of Chinese Taipei in the boys' doubles final yesterday, 6-3, 6-4.

** Young is the first African-American boy to be ranked No. 1 in the world in singles.

Selected quotes from Donald Young after winning the Australian Open boys' singles title:

On becoming the youngest No. 1-ranked junior and the youngest junior Grand Slam winner:

"I'm really excited actually. I really don't know what to say. Been wanting to win this tournament for a while and it happened, so I'm really excited."

On how his game has evolved over the past six to eight months:

"I think it's confidence more now. I feel like I'm capable of playing with the players and not they're all bigger. They're all bigger pretty much than me anyway, but I feel like I can play with them and they're a little closer to my age. (I'm) about to be 16 this year. Some of them, they were like 18. But I just had a lot more respect for the ones last year. Now I feel like I'm up there with the rest of them."

On taking the next step to the top of the pro ranks:

"Obviously, (it's) a big gap because they're out there getting to the main Slam finals. But when I get bigger and older hopefully, I can be up there in a couple years or try at least. If I'm playing the same players. Most of the players I'll probably play will be in the Juniors or some of the ones that are out there now, they'll be getting a little older."

On what it means to be No. 1:

"A lot. I've wanted to be No. 1 since I started playing ITFs. But it's here now, so I don't really know. It's kind of like no feeling to it. I thought it would be this awesome, but I thought it would (even) be a lot (more). It just feels like nothing now. But I'm excited about it. Maybe tomorrow when I actually see No. 1 by my name, then I'll realize it."

NinjaPoodle · #10 06-30-2005, 06:55 PM

Venus Williams beats Sharapova to return to Wimbledon final

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Tennis Writer
June 30, 2005

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Venus Williams traded loud shrieks and powerful shots with Maria Sharapova as flash bulbs popped in the fading light, and when it was over, Williams celebrated her Wimbledon semifinal victory as if the title were hers again.

Straight-faced and serious throughout the match, Williams let it all out. She crossed over to the other side of the net, hopped in place, then bent over and laughed.

Thursday's match was a stirring 7-6 (2), 6-1 victory over the defending champion, yet it was so much more than that. It was the strongest statement to date that Williams is back on top of her game, back to being a player who was ranked No. 1 and won four Grand Slam titles in 2000-01.

Hampered by injuries, burdened by erratic play, surpassed by a younger sibling and others, Williams hadn't advanced beyond the quarterfinals at a major in two years.

``After the match, I was like: 'OK, you can stop focusing now. Have a little bit of fun,''' Williams said. ``Today, for me, was just one point at a time, just sticking to my game and not getting off and losing focus of what I needed to do. So the end of the match, that was the arrival of getting pumped up.''

There's still another match to go, of course, but Williams left the All England Club not knowing who she'll face in Saturday's final. About 10 minutes after Williams and Sharapova walked off the court, the rain that delayed the start of play for more than four hours returned. The other semifinal, moved to Court 1, was suspended with top-ranked Lindsay Davenport leading No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 5-3, and Mauresmo serving at 15-0.

They'll resume Friday, when No. 1 Roger Federer faces No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt, and No. 2 Andy Roddick plays No. 12 Thomas Johansson for berths in the men's final.

Read the rest here

NinjaPoodle · #11 11-01-2006, 02:01 PM

I'm bringing this back up because although I wasnt able to dress up for Halloween this year, my costume was ready: a tennis outfit (skort,jacket and polo), racket, and angel wings. (she passed in 2003). It was sort of my personal tribute to her.

cjoanell · #12 11-09-2006, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle

I'm bringing this back up because although I wasnt able to dress up for Halloween this year, my costume was ready: a tennis outfit (skort,jacket and polo), racket, and angel wings. (she passed in 2003). It was sort of my personal tribute to her.

Aww, did you take pictures....

NinjaPoodle · #13 11-09-2006, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjoanell

Aww, did you take pictures....

No, I should have but since I didnt go out, I didnt dress up.

NinjaPoodle · #14 08-29-2007, 12:42 PM

USTA To Honor Althea Gibson on Opening Night of US Open

http://www.usta.com/althea50/

NinjaPoodle · #15 10-24-2007, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle

I'm bringing this back up because although I wasnt able to dress up for Halloween this year, my costume was ready: a tennis outfit (skort,jacket and polo), racket, and angel wings. (she passed in 2003). It was sort of my personal tribute to her.

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I will for sure dress up as Ms. Gibson.