Arthur Ashe Tennis Tournament Champion
- Gender: Male
- Citizenship: United States
- Born: Jul 10, 1943
- Died: Feb 6, 1993
Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was an American World No. 1 professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles, ranking him among the best tennis players from the United States.
Ashe, an African American, was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, or the Australian Open. He retired in 1980. He was ranked World No. 1 by Harry Hopman in 1968 and by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and World Tennis Magazine in 1975. In the ATP computer rankings, he peaked at No. 2 in May 1976.
In the early 1980s, Ashe is believed to have contracted HIV from a blood transfusion he received during heart bypass surgery. Ashe publicly announced his illness in April 1992 and began working to educate others about HIV and AIDS. He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia on February 6, 1993.
On June 20, 1993, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then United States President Bill Clinton.
Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.
success
I have tried to keep on with my striving because this is the only hope I have of ever achieving anything worthwhile and lasting.
hope
When we were together, I loved you deeply and you gave me so much happiness I can never repay you.
happiness
We must reach out our hand in friendship and dignity both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.
friendship
The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.
attitude
Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.
time & trust
You learn about equality in history and civics, but you find out life is not really like that.
equality & history
One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.
success
There is a syndrome in sports called 'paralysis by analysis.'
sports
I have always drawn strength from being close to home.
home & strength