Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson

I am so glad this book crossed my path. Sometime in the last 3 years I became aware of Althea and have become more and more curious about her. This book is exactly what I was looking for. A full biography of one of the most important tennis players to ever enter the sport, and yet so few people are aware of her.

She was #1 ranked female tennis player in the world for both 1957 and 1958, the first African American to win a Grand Slam title (the French Championships), Wimbledon and the US Nationals (precursor of the US Open). She was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years. In all, she won 11 Grand Slam tournaments: five singles titles, five doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title.. Seven years later she broke the color barrier again where she became the first Black woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).

Despite those incredible accomplishments Althea never received the recognition that other Tennis athletes have, nor the monetary compensation.

Read this book. Learn her story. Share it with others.
It's the bare minimum that Ms. Gibson deserves.

***Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.