History beckons for one of Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe. The U.S.-based pairing will lock horns during the US Open semifinals on Friday.
Both players are vying for their first Grand Slam title. A triumph in the tournament final would also prove significant for U.S. tennis as a whole; an American male hasn’t claimed the title at the famous tournament since Andy Roddick did so in 2002.
More significantly, though, one of Shelton or Tiafoe will have the chance to join a host of notable names as Black American players to win the US Open. To date, there have been a fair few African-American women to pick up one of tennis’ crown jewels. That hasn’t quite been the case for African-American males competing for the prize in Flushing Meadows, New York. Shelton and Tiafoe will believe they have the gifts to compete for the famous hardware.
With that, here’s a look at the history of Black US Open winners, including where Shelton and Tiafoe could place with a win in this year’s competition.
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History of Black US Open winners
Players of African descent have made a marked impact on the US Open over the years. They have accounted for more than a dozen title wins — the vast majority belonging to the Williams sisters.
Other notable Black tennis stars to hoist the Tiffany & Co.-crafted cup include Sloane Stephens, Naomi Osaka and Althea Gibson.
Arthur Ashe 1968
The only Black man to capture the US Open crown is famed right-hander Arthur Ashe. The Richmond native was a three-time Grand Slam champion, surging to the title in Flushing Meadows, New York in 1968.
Ranked No. 5 in the tourney, Ashe downed former World No. 1s Frank Parker and Roy Emerson en route to the title. Ashe cut down No. 8 Tom Okker in the final, collecting his crown in five sets. Ashe’s title proved noteworthy for multiple reasons; he was the first person to win the tournament after it opened up to professional players.
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Who was Arthur Ashe?
Ashe’s name adorns the stadium at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. That’s for good reason; the famed tennis player was the first man to pick up a US Amateur and US Open title in the same year, achieving that feat during that famous 1968 season.
A spindly right-hander known for his deft touch on serves and volleys, Ashe is among the most decorated African-American tennis players in history. He claimed three Grand Slams across his glittering career. The first African-American selected to play in the Davis Cup for the United States, Ashe also helped lead the U.S. to five titles in the international team tournament.
Ashe was born into segregation, unable to take part in junior tournaments as a youth. He started his tennis career in earnest after moving to St. Louis as a teenager, emerging as a star pupil at Sumner High. Ashe took his talents to UCLA before embarking on an epic amateur career that saw him capture 35 amateur singles titles. His breakthrough came during that famous 1968 campaign in which he chopped, sliced and served his way to glory in Flushing Meadows.
On the court, Ashe was a gentleman. Off of it, he was an activist, decrying South African apartheid and publicly acknowledging his fight with HIV/AIDS after contracting it via blood transfusion.
Ashe died on Feb. 6, 1993. He was 49 years old.
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Ben Shelton vs. Frances Tiafoe first all-Black men’s semifinal
Shelton and Tiafoe are set to take part in the first Grand Slam singles semifinal of the Open era to feature two African-American men on Thursday. The seismic nature of their on-court confrontation has been lauded by many, including fellow US Open semifinalist Gauff.
“Honestly, especially on the men’s side, I never thought I would see an all-Black semifinal between the guys,” Gauff said, per The Grio. “I just never thought that would be able to happen.”
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