The Story of Arthur Ashe

As a Manhattan-bound “7 Train” pulled out of Willets Point-Shea Stadium, a teenager, about 15, was bored and crept up against the subway window staring out at the green patches that dotted the site of the annual Grand Slam tournee, the US Open. He suddenly turned to his neatly dressed father and asked: “Dad, what's that white bowl thing for again?”

His father, who knows everything surrounding the sport of tennis and more, smiled and said: “That's where all the great tennis players of the world come and play every summer. The white bowl over there is called Arthur Ashe Stadium.”

The boy seemed confused: “Who the heck is Arthur Ashe?”

The father, patient, drew another smile and began his story: “Well, let me tell you about Arthur Ashe, son.”

“Once regarded as one of the best players in the tennis world, Arthur Ashe was equally famous off court as he was on court. Having been an African-American born in the South, Virginia to be exact, Ashe didn't have many opportunities. The South was still extremely segregated back then, in the 40's and 50's when Arthur Ashe growing up. Black folks and white folks could not sit in the same café together, could not use the same bathrooms, and couldn't even drink from the same water fountains. They simply did not get along. D’you learn all this stuff in school?”

The teen responded: “Yea, wasn't until the 70’s until things started to get better, right?”

The father continued: “Good. Yes, yes, things were bad back then for black people. Though his chances were limited, when Ashe picked up a tennis racket, there was something about him that made him stand above the rest. He was horribly skinny but so talented that anyone who saw him play knew he was destined for great success in the sport.”

“It was with that great promise, UCLA offered Arthur a tennis scholarship. Ashe did not disappoint, bringing back two NCAA titles before graduating in 1965.”

“Get to the good part, dad. Why did they name this stadium after him?” The boy hurried along.

“Alright, Arthur Ashe turned professional in 1969 after winning the US Open in '68. By then, he was already 26. Now remember, Roger Federer is only 27, and he's got 12 Slams under his belt. So, tennis was a very different sport back in those days too. But something else happened in 1969. Ashe, along with a few others, formed sort of a player's union. Now, we call it the ATP...”

The boy interrupted, “I know the ATP, don't they decide the rankings and whatnot?”

“Exactly,” the father began again, “See how important a thing Arthur Ashe co-founded? At the time, he was tops in the world. Widely respected as a tennis player, but of course, his skin colour was still a bit of an issue. He was denied entry into South Africa for a tennis tournament...”

“Oh yes!”, the teenager excitedly interjected, “we learned about that in civics, about how apartheid totally segregated South Africa. So, what did Ashe do about it?”

“Precisely, son! Apartheid was wrong and Ashe was a victim of it. So, he stood up tall and strong against the South African government, denouncing the egregious racial segregation. Whilst all that was going on, he kept playing top-form tennis. In 1970, Ashe was champion at the Australian Open in Melbourne and in 1975, Arthur Ashe displaced the great Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon, once again establishing himself as World #1.”

“Did he win anything else, dad?”

“Unfortunately, no. However, he was still a spirited person in fighting for the right causes. Ashe was a great guy all the time. He got married, adopted a kid. Things were going well for him, but then he was struck by a devastating heart attack. Ashe went through a really complicated heart surgery, something like quadruple bypass...anyhow, he had a remarkable recovery, and really wanted to get back to playing again. But the heart is something not to be messed around with, you know. That wasn’t the worst of it for Arthur though...”

“Oh no, what happened to him? Another heart attack?” the teenager seemed engrossed.

“Well, you know about HIV and AIDS right? Arthur Ashe was infected with it in 1988 from a blood transfusion. They knew very little about the disease back then. So, he kept it a secret for several years. Really, here was an amicable person who made history as the first black man to win the Aussie Open, Wimbledon and US Open and still to this day, is the only black man to do so. And here was this monstrous disease that tortures whomever bears its virus. It was just tragic, simply tragic.”

The train reached Hunter's Point by now. The rush hour subway was packed, elbows and boots were poking into their personal bubbles. The father and son did not seem to care.

“So, after coming out publicly about his infection, Ashe did so much to be an avid advocate for the disease. Talked about prevention, told the world's AIDS victims to be strong about it, and truly never complained about it. You know what he said when someone asked him ‘Why does God
have to select you for such a bad disease?’”

“What?”

“Arthur Ashe said: ‘In the world over — 50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5,000 reach the Grand Slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to the semifinals, 2 to the finals. When I was holding a cup, I never asked God 'Why me?' And today in pain I should not be asking God, 'Why me?’’”

The teen, somewhat taken aback: “Wow, what a classy guy. Is he still alive today?”

“Nope, unfortunately not. The disease took his life in 1993, but not before he finished writing a memoir of his up and down life. Too bad, he was only 40 something when he died. But hey, he made his mark in the world-and that's why that stadium was named after him.” the dad sat back, signaling that he had finished the story.

The father and son remained silent for a few minute, as if to comprehend the life that Arthur Ashe lived. As they slowly snapped back to reality, the train pulled into Grand Central Station. The dad said good bye to his son and got off to work. The teenager, meanwhile, rode to Times Square to meet his friends.

When the boy passed by Arthur Ashe Stadium again on his way back, he thought of what his father told him in the morning.

And that's the day he decided to start learning tennis.

-D