Althea Gibson attempted to enter the United States Lawn Tennis Association's Championship in 1949 but she was not invited to compete in any qualifiers. Alice Marble, a successful white tennis player, wrote a letter on Gibson’s behalf, trying to get members to allow her to compete. Then, Gibson was invited to a New Jersey Qualifier and earned a spot to compete in New York. She became first African American woman to compete at US nationals in 1950 but unfortunately did not win. In 1957 Althea Gibson became the first African American to win US nationals and first African American to win a singles title at Wimbledon. In 1958 she held consecutive titles at both Wimbledon and the US nationals. She paved the way for other African American tennis players.
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