In the 1940's and 50's, it was not likely that a young black teenager from New York's Harlem would ever have the chance to play in the world's biggest tennis tournaments. But Althea Gibson did play, and what's more, she won. Althea was born in Silver, South Carolina, in 1927. When Althea was still a child, her family moved north to New York city. While Althea was in junior high school, she became interested in paddle tennis. (1)_______________________.One day, a black musician named Buddy Walker saw Althea playing paddle tennis. He realized how good she was. So he bought her a real tennis racket and took her to a tennis court. Althea instantly fell in love with tennis. She started playing in the All Black American Tennis Association tournaments. (2)_______________________. In 1942, World War II came along, and there were no more tournaments for four years. But when the tournaments started again in 1946, Althea instantly became a star. She won every American Tennis Association tournament from 1946 to 1957.By 1958 she had won the United States Championship twice, as well as winning twice more at Wimbledon. Althea became a professional player in 1959 and won the professional championship in 1960.
