The arc of Althea Gibson, a tennis star for whom fighting was a mode of survival
For decades, Althea Gibson’s fame was inescapable. The first Black woman to win Wimbledon and the first to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, among numerous other achievements, the American tennis champion broke barriers from the 1950s onward.
But by her death, alone and nearly destitute, at the age of 76 in 2003, she had been eclipsed by newer stars as well as by later groundbreakers like Arthur Ashe. Even Sally H. Jacobs, a former Globe reporter and the author of the new “Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson,” hadn’t heard of her.
“It was pure happenstance,” said Jacobs, describing how she landed her latest project. “I had written one other book, a biography of Barack Obama’s dad [‘The Other Barack’]. And my partner said, ‘How about Althea Gibson?’ I had never heard of her. The more I looked into her, the more I became fascinated with her.”
What she uncovered was a life of incredible struggle — from Gibson’s abusive Harlem childhood to her final disheartening dismissal from her position as spokeswoman for the (New York) Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports — and also secrecy. Although Gibson had written an autobiography and a memoir with her former doubles partner Angela Buxton, “there wasn’t a full biography of her,” said Jacobs. Her biographer set about to remedy that: “There were fortunately quite a few people around close to her who were still alive,” said Jacobs, who conducted more than 100 interviews for the book, including extensive conversations with Buxton.
She also found an incredible tale of perseverance. Not only did Gibson face prejudice as a Black woman, but her androgynous appearance and apparently fluid sexuality set her apart in what had been viewed as a ladylike game, as did her youth as a street brawler.
In addition, Gibson faced intense pressure to be a role model, the “Jackie Robinson of tennis,” a role she rejected. “As her star rose at the end of ’56,” when she won her first Grand Slam tournament, the French Open, “Black folks wanted her to be their champion,” said Jacobs. “They wanted her to use her success to show all the possibilities. And white people wanted her to be a model also, and the press wanted her to unbutton and talk about it all, which was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Fighting was the way she learned to survive, not by cooperating and playing nice,” said Jacobs.
Sally Jacobs will be discussing “Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson” with Cary Goldberg at Brookline Booksmith on Tuesday, Aug. 15, at 7 p.m.