Ashe Reaches The Top

On Dec. 12, 1968, Arthur Ashe becomes the first black to be ranked No. 1 in tennis.

But before Ashe was tennis’ No. 1 player, he excelled in college at UCLA.

In 1963, Ashe became the first black player ever selected for the United States Davis Cup team.

In 1965, Ashe won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) singles title and contributed to UCLA's winning the team NCAA tennis championship.

Ashe, an African American, was the first black player ever selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.

In 1968, Ashe won the United States Amateur Championships against Davis Cup Teammate Bob Lutz, and the first US Open of the open era.

He also aided the U.S Davis Cup team to victory. He is the only player to have won both of these amateur and open national championships in the same year.

He won three Grand Slam titles before retiring in 1980, ranking him among the best tennis players from the United States.

Ashe remains the only black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, or Australian Open. He is one of only two men of black African ancestry to win any Grand Slam singles title, the other being France's Yannick Noah, who won the French Open in 1983.