Arthur Ashe
Tennis Tournament Champion
1943 – 1993
Who was Arthur Ashe?
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, and 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 former United States President Bill Clinton.
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- Born
- Jul 10, 1943
Richmond - Also known as
- Arthur Robert Ashe Jr.
- Parents
- Siblings
- Spouses
- Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
(1977/02/20 - 1993/02/06)
- Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
- Children
- Ethnicity
- African American
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Profession
- Education
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies
- Sumner High School
- Lived in
- Richmond
- Petersburg
- Died
- Feb 6, 1993
New York City
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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"Arthur Ashe." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/arthur_ashe>.
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