Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson, a talented tennis player from Harlem, broke barriers and became one of the greatest champions in US history in the 1950s. Despite facing discrimination, she achieved remarkable success, winning top honors at Wimbledon and Forest Hills and becoming the first Black woman to appear on the covers of Time and Sports Illustrated. Her inspiring story is told in Sally H. Jacobs' biography, "Althea."

Format: Hardback
Length: 464 pages
Publication date: 04 September 2023
Publisher: St Martin's Press

In 1950, three years after Jackie Robinson broke barriers by stepping onto the diamond at Ebbets Field, the National Lawn Tennis Association (NLTA) cautiously opened its doors to welcome a powerhouse player who would revolutionize the game of kings: Althea Gibson. A street-smart young woman from Harlem, Gibson stood as an alien in the rarefied white world of tennis, as an aspiring champion could be. With her tattered jeans and short-cropped hair, Gibson garnered stares from both sides of the color barrier. However, her astonishing skill on the court soon overshadowed all else, as she emerged as one of the greatest tennis champions the United States has ever produced. Gibson's career was nothing short of stunning. She triumphed at Wimbledon and Forest Hills repeatedly, cementing her status as a dominant force in the sport. As her star continued to rise, the underestimated high school dropout shook hands with the Queen of England, was paraded up Broadway in a blizzard of ticker tape, graced the covers of Time and Sports Illustrated—becoming the first Black woman to appear on the covers of both magazines—and was acclaimed as the world's number one female tennis player. In Althea, prize-winning former Boston Globe reporter Sally H. Jacobs delves into the heart-wrenching story of this pioneering trailblazer. This first full biography of a remarkable woman serves as a poignant reminder to the world that Althea Gibson was a trailblazer, a champion, and one of the most remarkable Americans of the twentieth century.

Weight: 300g
Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781250246554