page_title: Arthur Ashe
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Arthur Ashe / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: President Ronald Reagan Shaking Hands with Arthur Ashe at a White House Blue Room Event for The United States Davis Cup Tennis Team, 7/19/1982
context_page_description: Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles.
  Ashe was the first black player 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. He retired in 1980. He was ranked world No. 1 by Harry Hopman in 1968 and by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and World Tennis Magazine in 1975. In the ATP computer rankings, he peaked at No. 2 in May 1976.
  In the early 1980s, Ashe is believed to have contracted HIV from a blood transfusion he received during heart bypass surgery. He publicly announced his illness in April 1992 and began working to educate others about HIV and AIDS. He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 49 on February 6, 1993.
  On June 20, 1993, Ashe was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the United States President Bill Clinton.
context_section_description: In 1963, Ashe became the first black player ever selected for the United States Davis Cup team. In 1965, ranked the number 3 player in the United States, Ashe won both the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) singles title and the doubles title (with Ian Crookenden of New Zealand), helping UCLA win the team NCAA tennis championship.
  In 1966 and 1967, Ashe reached the final of the Australian Championship but lost on both occasions to Roy Emerson.
  In 1968 Ashe won the United States Amateur Championships against Davis Cup Teammate Bob Lutz, and the first US Open of the open era, becoming the first black male to capture the title and the only player to have won both the amateur and open national championships in the same year. In order to maintain Davis Cup eligibility and have time away from army duty for important tournaments, Ashe was required to maintain his amateur status. Because of this, he could not accept the $14,000 first-prize money, which was instead given to runner-up Tom Okker, while Ashe received just $20 daily expenses for his historic triumph. His ability to compete in the championship (and avoid the Vietnam war) arose from his brother Johnnie's decision to serve an additional tour in Vietnam in Arthur's place.  In December 1968, Ashe helped the U.S. team become Davis Cup champions after victory in the final in Adelaide against defending champions, Australia. His only loss in the 12 Davis Cup tournament singles matches he played that year, was in the last dead rubber game after the U.S team had already clinched victory. The season closed with Ashe the winner of 10 of 22 tournaments with a 72–10 win-loss match record.
  In September 1969, the U.S. Davis Cup team retained the cup, beating Romania in the final challenge round, with Ashe winning both his singles matches. The same year, Ashe applied for a visa to play in the South African Open but was denied the visa by the South African government who enforced a strict apartheid policy of racial segregation. He continued to apply for visas in the following years and the country continued to deny him one. In protest, he used this example of discrimination to campaign for U.S. sanctions against South Africa and the expulsion of the nation from the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) but, in defense of the individual South African players, refused the call from activists to forfeit matches against them.
  In January 1970, Ashe won his second Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open. With the competition somewhat depleted by the absence of some world-class National Tennis League (NTL) professional players barred by their league from entering because the financial guarantees were deemed too low, Ashe defeated Dick Crealy in straight sets in the final to become the first non-Australian to win the title since 1959. In March 1970, triggered by South Africa's refusal to grant Ashe a visa to play there, the country was expelled from the Davis Cup competition for its racial policy. In September 1970, shortly after helping the U.S Davis cup team defeat West Germany in the challenge round to win their third consecutive Davis Cup, Ashe signed a five-year contract with Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis.
  In March 1971, Ashe reached the final of the Australian Open again but lost in straight sets to Ken Rosewall. In June that year, Ashe won the French Open men's doubles with partner Marty Riessen.
  In 1972, due to a dispute between the ILTF and the WCT, Ashe, as one of the 32 contracted WCT players, was barred from taking part in any ILTF Grand Prix tennis circuit tournaments from January to July. This ban meant Ashe was unable to play at the French Open and Wimbledon Grand Slam tournaments. In September, Ashe reached the final of the US Open for the second time. After leading his opponent, Ilie Năstase by 2 sets to 1 and with a break point to take a 4–1 lead in the fourth set, he eventually lost in five sets. The loss from such a winning position was the biggest disappointment of Ashe's professional tennis career. At the post-match award ceremony, irri
caption: President Reagan greets Arthur Ashe (left) in 1982.
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