Born in South Carolina and raised in Harlem, New York City, Althea Gibson made history as the first ever African-American woman to compete on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam.

Before retiring in the late 1950s, Althea Gibson cemented her status as one of the game's all-time greats with five Grand Slam singles crowns and six Grand Slam doubles titles.

Forced to compete in what had been a segregated sport, Gibson was finally given the chance to play at the highest level in the 1950 US Championships. Her game continued to improve as black players were gradually accepted into tennis.

The transition was complete for Gibson when she claimed her first Grand Slam with victory in the 1956 French Championships. She also went on to win the doubles event with Jewish Englishwoman Angela Buxton in a triumphant moment for two players who had encountered discrimination at the start of their careers.

Althea Gibson went on to succeed in doubles and singles at Wimbledon the following year and came home to a hero's welcome in New York.

She responded by pleasing her home crowd further with victory at the US Championships in 1957 and 1958, following a second successive Wimbledon singles title and a third in doubles.

After her 1958 successes Althea Gibson was named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the second year running and retired from tennis as one of the most important players to have ever picked up a racket.