STORY & PHOTO COURTESY FELICIA LAGUERRE OWENS
Seventy-five years ago, an African American young woman by way of Harlem, New York, broke the color barrier in professional sports by joining the pros, in an uncharted adventure of professional tennis. Her name, Althea Neale Gibson.
This year’s theme is, “US Open Pays Homage to Althea Gibson’s 75th Anniversary of Breaking the Color Barrier,” with an elaborate poster design posted throughout the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds.
During the breaks between games during the competitive tennis matches, the animated billboards around the tennis courts showed footage of Gibson playing tennis in her heyday, visible to fans and players alike.
Despite being the hottest female player of the summer season, Canadian Victoria Mboko was quickly iced out of the first round of the 2025 US Open, along with the reigning Australian Open champion, American Madison Keys, who was ranked 6th.
The show must go on, and who better to entertain the night crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium than a fan favorite. Former two-time US Open Champion, American Venus Williams, 45 years young, playing in her 25th US Open, took on Czech Karolina Muchova. No one expected Williams to win this match. The odds on a sports betting website for a Williams win were about +800.
Williams played better than anticipated, winning the second set 6-2 after losing the first set 6-3. Hopes for a Williams victory were running high, as the crowd loudly applauded her every winning point. However, this was not enough to lead Williams to the win, as she would lose the final set 6-1 to Muchova. Williams received a standing ovation when she exited the court, as fans appreciated the flash of Vintage Venus in her glory days that emerged throughout the match.
The title of hottest male player of the summer season is a two-man race between Italian Jannik Sinner and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner began the year by winning the Australian Open, and followed that up with winning Wimbledon. Alcaraz won the French Open in late May 2025. Sinner has won two Grand Slams. If Alcaraz wins the US Open, he will also have won two Grand Slams. Of course, multi-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is always lurking about the arena. It is tense at the top of male tennis.
There is an apprentice among the male tennis players at the 2025 US Open. He is American Ben Shelton, and he fires serve as fast as 140 mph. Shelton has been on the pro tennis tour for a few years and has made deep runs at the previous US Opens. Last year, American Taylor Fritz made it to the finals of the US Open.
Will 2025 be the year that Shelton wins the US Open Men’s final, becoming the 2nd African American Male after Arthur Ashe to win the title? Stay tuned to watch the journey to fruition. It would be the perfect icing on the cake, as we continue to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Breaking the Color Barrier.
