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Before Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe and the Williams sisters, there was Althea Gibson

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom
Published February 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM CST

Althea Gibson was a pioneer in women’s sports known for breaking the color barrier in tennis and the Ladies Professional Golf Association, as well as her victories at the U.S. Open, French Open and Wimbledon in the late 1950s.

Here & Now‘s Robin Young speaks with Eric Jentsch, a curator at the Smithsonian, about her legacy through the lens of one of her outfits and tennis rackets.

Tennis racquet used by Althea Gibson at Wimbledon, 1958. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)
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Tennis racquet used by Althea Gibson at Wimbledon, 1958. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR
Here & Now Newsroom