Top 10 greatest American tennis players of all time

#9 Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson during her teenage years

The foremost black player to compete on the women's tennis circuit in the 1960s was American Althea Gibson. At a time when racism and prejudice were widespread in sports and society in general, Gibson achieved considerable success. and is an inspiration to many young players to this day.

She was the first ever black player to win a Grand Slam, and her contributions are spoken of in high regard even today.

"Her road to success was a challenging one," said fellow American tennis great Billie Jean King about Gibson's career. Venus Williams and Serena Williams have often spoken about the kind of impact Gibson's success had on their own careers early on.

Gibson was a five-time Grand Slam Singles champion, winning Wimbledon and the US Open twice each and the French Open once. If Gibson had won the Australian Open, she would have become the fourth woman at the time to complete the Career Slam.