Tennis’ “Open Era” started in 1968, when the four grand slams opened their doors to amateurs and professionals to compete for titles. This is essentially Year 1 of modern tennis, and Arthur Ashe made it historic for multiple reasons.
Ashe won the NCAA title at UCLA in 1965 and was one of the world’s top amateurs when the 1968 US Open rolled around. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army at the time, but the Army allowed him to pursue tennis and lead USA’s Davis Cup team. He was the No. 5 seed at the US Open behind four professional Australians, but he marched through the tournament and beat Tom Okker in the final 14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. As an amateur, he could not accept the $14,000 first prize (that went to Okker), but he became the first amateur champion of Open era.
Ashe was also the first Black player to win the US Open. He was responsible for several other racial breakthroughs throughout his Hall of Fame career, being the Black player to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and he was also the first Black player to represent the U.S. on the Davis Cup team, which he did for 10 years. The US Open’s main stadium court bears his name and is the largest tennis stadium in the world.
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