One of the United States' greatest tennis champions was honored with a spirited tribute on Day 3 of US Open Fan Week—one that also heralded the 2022 expansion of HBCU Live at the US Open.
Althea Gibson, the first Black tennis player to ever win a Grand Slam tournament when she triumphed at the 1956 French Championships, was remembered on what would've been her 95th birthday by some of the "Divine Nine," a nickname for historically African American fraternities and sororities.
Gibson, in fact, was a sister of one of these chapters herself: In 1949, she enrolled at Florida A&M University and was initiated into the Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Just a stone's throw away from the statue at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that was erected in her honor, members of the Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc—from Gibson's alma mater—as well as the Iota Rho chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fratenity, Inc.; the Beta Zeta, Kappa Kappa and Alabama-Pelham Alumni chapters of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; and the Queens Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., treated US Open attendees to high-energy show of step performances in the South Plaza.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and tennis share a vital history that was first celebrated with a namesake event at the 2021 US Open. HBCU Live at the US Open seeks to capture the spirit of "yards"—communal spaces at HBCUs—and its second edition will be celebrated during the main draw on Aug. 31.
To usher in the event's second year, USTA Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Marisa Grimes was accompanied by special guests that included Gibson's family and Brittany Claybrooks, the East Orange City, N.J. councilwoman who herself is an HBCU alumnus.
