This February, Sports Illustrated is celebrating Black History Month by spotlighting a different iconic athlete or group of athletes every day. Today, SI looks back on the legacy of Althea Gibson.
Althea Gibson was the first African American tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in the world. She was the first African American to compete in the once-segregated U.S. Open, which opened the door for a career that saw plenty of championships: One French Open, two U.S. Opens and two Wimbledons.
To top it all off, she was a world-class golfer, becoming the first African American to compete on the Women's Professional Golf Tour.