Grayson Fields

Mrs. Laroque

Honors English 10

November 24, 2012
Arthur Ashe Arthur Ashe was one of Mark Mathabane’s greatest role models during Mark’s childhood. Arthur became the first, and only, black tennis player to win the men’s singles at the Australian Open, the U.S. Open, or at Wimbledon. He changed tennis forever and was an inspiration not just to Mark, but also to people all over the world. What Ashe did showed many blacks that if you set out for a goal and really commit to it, despite the odds, then you just might find yourself succeeding when others thought only of failure. Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was born on July 10, 1946, in Richmond, Virginia. Arthur was the oldest of Arthur Ashe Sr. and Mattie Cunningham’s two sons and was a very determined boy. Under the direction of his mother, Mattie, Arthur was reading by the age of four. Unfortunately, two years later, Mattie Cunningham passed away. The death of Mattie made Ashe’s father begin to run a tighter ship at home, for the fear of seeing his boys getting into trouble without her discipline. Arthur and his younger brother Johnnie went to church every Sunday, and they were told to come straight home every day after school. About a year after his mother’s death, Arthur discovered the game of tennis. He picked up his first racket at the age of seven, at a park near his home. Arthur began to practice and soon he caught the attention of Dr. Robert Walter Johnson Jr., a tennis coach from Lynchburg, Virginia, who was very active in the black tennis communities around. Dr. Johnson began to coach Arthur, and he soon excelled in his tennis game. Soon enough, Arthur was going out to play in his first tennis tournament. In Arthur’s first tournament, Ashe did exceptionally well and reached the junior national championships. Eventually, Ashe moved to St. Louis to work closely with another good coach, after winning the junior national title in 1960 and 1961. Ranked fifth in the country, Arthur accepted a scholarship at UCLA. Arthur wasn’t just an athlete; he was a good student as well, graduating with a degree in business administration. As Ashe continued to improve in his game, he caught the attention of his tennis idol, Pancho Gonzales, who eventually helped Ashe perfect his serve-and-volley attack. Everything happened for Arthur in 1968, the day Ashe shocked the world by winning the U.S. Open. This was a huge event because it was about a young amateur winning a major