Althea Gibson: She Learned Tennis on a Closed Street… Then Won Wimbledon

In July 1957, a young woman shook hands with the Queen at Wimbledon.

Years earlier, she had to sit in the back of a bus because of the colour of her skin.

This is the story of Althea Gibson.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Paddle. A paddle is a flat wooden bat for some small ball sports.

She played with a wooden paddle on a street closed to cars.

Determination. Determination means not giving up, even when something is hard.

With great determination, she won ten titles in a row.

Tournament. A tournament is a competition with many players and many rounds.

The biggest tournaments in America kept her out.

Barrier. A barrier is something that stops people from going forward.

In 1950, she broke the colour barrier at Forest Hills.

Despite. Despite shows that something happened, even though something else was against it.

Despite her titles, she earned no money.

Now, one pattern: despite, or in spite of, plus a noun or an -ing form.

It shows a surprising result.

There was segregation, but she became a champion.

Despite segregation, she became a champion.

Ready? Let's begin.

Althea Gibson was born in South Carolina in 1927.

When she was three, her family moved to Harlem, in New York.

She was restless, and she often skipped school.

Her street in Harlem was a play street, closed to cars so that children could play.

She played with a wooden paddle on a street closed to cars.

By twelve, she was a city paddle tennis champion.

A musician named Buddy Walker saw her talent.

He bought her an old tennis racket and took her to a Black tennis club in Harlem.

Two doctors helped her: Hubert Eaton, and Robert Walter Johnson, who later also coached Arthur Ashe.

She lived with the Eaton family, finished high school and went to college.

With great determination, she won ten titles in a row.

But the biggest tournaments in America kept her out.

There was no written rule.

They simply did not invite Black players.

Would the doors ever open?

In 1950, the former champion Alice Marble wrote that tennis players should act less like "sanctimonious hypocrites".

That summer, Gibson was invited.

In 1950, she broke the colour barrier at Forest Hills.

During her match, a storm broke over the stadium, and lightning knocked a stone eagle off the top.

She lost, but she later said it may have been "an omen that times were changing".

In 1956, she won the French Championships.

She was the first Black player to win a Grand Slam singles title.

In July 1957, she won Wimbledon, and Queen Elizabeth gave her the trophy.

Despite segregation, she became a champion.

She later wrote that shaking hands with the Queen was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus.

New York gave her a ticker-tape parade.

Before her, only one Black American had been given one: Jesse Owens.

The next year, she won Wimbledon again, and the US title for the second time.

But amateurs were not paid.

Despite her titles, she earned no money.

So she played tennis before basketball matches, and in 1964, she became the first Black woman on the women's professional golf tour.

She called her life story "I Always Wanted to Be Somebody".

She died in 2003, and today a monument to her stands at the US Open.

Let's review. She played with a wooden paddle on a street closed to cars.

With great determination, she won ten titles in a row.

The biggest tournaments in America kept her out.

In 1950, she broke the colour barrier at Forest Hills.

Despite her titles, she earned no money.

And remember: despite segregation, she became a champion.

Althea Gibson's story teaches us: when a door is closed, keep knocking.

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