SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
PHOTOS BY FELICIA LAGUERRE OWENS
This past weekend in the city of East Orange, the Althea Gibson open tennis tournament was held yet again.
The two day event was filled with excitement, with the youth of East Orange and adults taking part. Day One was held at Elmwood Park, while Day Two happened at Soverel Park.
Participants ages 8-17 made up the youth division while the adults were 18 and up. This year’s event was in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Althea Gibson breaking the color barrier in tennis by competing in the US National championships – now the US Open – in 1950.
The USTA and the US Open are celebrating this milestone with the theme: 75 years of Breaking Barriers. There will be a tribute to Gibson on August 24th inside Arthur Ashe Stadium during the main draw of the single matches. Also, during this year’s US Open there will be a video featuring the life of Althea Gibson with her milestones. Finally, there will be a unique theme art display by Melissa Koby, the first Black theme artist in the history of the tournament.
Back in East Orange, the Althea Gibson tournament was sponsored by the City of East Orange, City Council and the Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs attending this tennis tournament was the Mayor of East Orange Ted Green and Councilman Sammed Monk who is the Chairman of the East Orange Arts and Recreation and the Cultural Affairs Committee.
There were over 20 participants that took part. The winner of the Adult Beginner Finals was Jasiyy Jones from the Orange Recreation Department, with the runner up being Ugoeze Achilike. Igor Nowak won the Youth Advanced finals over Nathniel Francois, while the Adult Advanced was won by Evelyn Alfaro, who is the tennis coach of the Bowser Tennis Team.
Also attending the event was Howell Jordan, the tennis coach of the East Orange Recreation Department.
Michelle Tatum-Curry from the Althea Gibson Foundation said of the tournament, “It was a great event. The kids had fun and the City of East Orange did a great job hosting the event. It’s all about the kids and youth. This year’s tournament was great.”
She thanked the mayor and city officials for hosting this event.
