Althea Gibson is one of the most iconic and talented female athletes of all time, breaking the color barrier in tennis and becoming the first black player to play and win at Wimbledon and the U.
S.
She is six-time Wimbledon singles champion..
In 2020, the Fed Cup was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup, making it the first global team sports competition named for a woman.
In 2006, the National Tennis Center was renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
She is the founder of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, the Women\'s Tennis Association, and the Women\'s Sports Foundation; she co-founded World Team Tennis; and she is part of the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Billie Jean King is the first female athlete to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 5 on the Sports Illustrated Top 40 Athletes.
Life magazine named King one of the 100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century, and she is ranked No.
Athlete, coach, leader, activist, and one of the most illustrious and celebrated tennis players in history, Billie Jean King is recognized for her life-long struggle for gender equality, both on and off the court.
She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971 and died in 2003.
After her tennis career, she also became the first black person on the LPGA Tour in golf.
Open) in 1950 (three years after Jackie Robinson integrated baseball), she won the first of her back-to-back titles there in 1957, also winning singles titles at Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958.
Championships (the modern-day U.
S.
After becoming the first black player to participate in the U.
S.
Championships.
Althea Gibson is one of the most iconic and talented female athletes of all time, breaking the color barrier in tennis and becoming the first black player to play and win at Wimbledon and the U.
S
