50 years later, Arthur Ashe’s historic Wimbledon victory still inspiring

On July 5, 1975, Wimbledon witnessed its first all-American singles final in nearly three decades, as defending champion Jimmy Connors faced Arthur Ashe.

The match was also historic because Ashe became the first Black man to compete in a Wimbledon singles final — the world’s oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament. Ashe became the first Black man to win the Wimbledon title, upsetting Connors 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 (Althea Gibson was the first Black tennis player to win Wimbledon, capturing the women’s singles championships in 1957 and 1958).

The significance of Ashe’s victory wasn’t lost on college basketball and tennis All-American John Lucas, who felt the full weight of its impact.

“I’ll never forget the intensity of the whole time,” said Lucas, 71, who in the summer of 1975 had recently completed his junior year at Maryland. “Ashe always had trouble against Connors.”

Connors was in his prime that year. He won three Grand Slam tournaments the previous year and nine titles in 1975. He was 22. Ashe, just shy of 32, was near the end of his career. Not only was Ashe 0-3 against Connors and a heavy underdog entering the final, he was also facing the added pressure of a multimillion dollar lawsuit from Connors, who accused him of libel and slander.

Connors claimed Ashe’s criticism of him not playing Davis Cup tennis was defamatory. The lawsuit stemmed from a public letter Ashe wrote to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) criticizing Connors’ patriotism for choosing to play World Team Tennis instead.

If the odds weren’t already stacked high enough against the sixth-seeded Ashe, Connors, ranked No. 1 in the world, entered the match riding a wave of dominance. Until his match against Ashe, Connors hadn’t lost a set in the tournament. He cruised through six straight victories, including a commanding semifinal win over Roscoe Tanner.

In comparison, Ashe’s path to the final was far more grueling. It took him four sets in the first round, four sets in the fifth round, and four sets in the quarterfinals over Bjorn Borg. Ashe dug deep to overcome Tony Roche in a hard-fought, five-set semifinal.

Ashe’s semifinal victory ended prior to Connors’ win, which gave Ashe the chance to scout and develop a plan against the often overly aggressive Connors, who had no problem returning Tanner’s serves, the fastest in tennis at that time.

Later that day, Ashe huddled with his team to devise a strategy for handling Connors’ overwhelming power and aggressive play. Drawing inspiration from heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali’s “rope-a-dope” tactic, which had stunned George Foreman in Zaire just the year before, Ashe chose finesse over force. Instead of matching Connors blow for blow, the plan was to disrupt his rhythm with soft dinks and dunks, tricky spins, and slicing shots that would sap his momentum.

Subtly channeling Ali once more, Ashe delivered a quiet psychological jab of his own: He strode onto Centre Court wearing a Davis Cup jacket with “USA” boldly stitched across the back — a pointed nod to Connors’ legal battle with him over Davis Cup participation.

The start went according to plan for Ashe. He did his thing with chips and lobs, moved Connors from side to side and dominated. Ashe broke Connors’ serve three straight times in the first set and won 6-1. He also won the second set again at 6-1, behind lobs and an occasional streaking backhand.

Ashe forced Connors to dance to his beat.

Art Carrington, a 1969 Hampton graduate, was a hitting partner with Ashe in the 1970s. Carrington wasn’t at Wimbledon, but he liked what he saw on television. 

“Arthur stayed with his strategy,” said Carrington, who has run the Carrington Tennis Academy at Hampshire College in Massachusetts for 45 years. “His serve was a big part of how he was able to attack Connors.”

Connors did regroup. He adjusted to Ashe’s style and won the third set 7-5, which didn’t surprise Lucas.

“I kept waiting for Jimmy Connors to turn things around,” Lucas said. “Remember, Jimmy Connors was a bad boy.”

But Connors wasn’t bad enough. Even when he took a 3-0 lead in the fourth set, Ashe broke back twice to take the set and match.

As a side note, Connors withdrew his lawsuit shortly after the Wimbledon final.

“It was a tremendous match,” Carrington said. “And it was like what we just saw in the French Open [between Carlos Alcaraz and Janik Sinner], a battle of will power. [Connors and Ashe] were two different styles of play. Two different temperaments, and Arthur came out on top.”

Ashe became the first Black man to win Wimbledon in his ninth time in the tournament. As a result of his victory, membership increased in the American Tennis Association (ATA), the oldest African American sports organization in the United States.

“That victory made an impression on so many Black kids,” said Lucas, who played World Team Tennis for two years and played 14 years in the NBA. “More people of color were playing tennis than at any other point up to that time.”

A half century later, Ashe’s historic Wimbledon victory continues to inspire. Though former tennis pro James Blake was born four years after Ashe’s victory, his deep appreciation for history reflects Ashe’s enduring legacy.

“Wimbledon is seen as the peak of our sport, and at that time Wimbledon was country club stuffiness and all white,” said Blake, who won 10 career tennis titles in the ATP Tour. “So, to see Althea [Gibson in 1957 and 1958] and Ashe win there was a moment of saying we’re here as well. African Americans can play this sport, and we can compete at the highest level at any venue.”

No Black male has won a Wimbledon final since Ashe. Only one other, MaliVai Washington in 1996, has played in the final. Blake pointed to several Black male players who have a chance to end the drought, including Francis Tiafoe, Darwin Blanch and Ben Shelton (Tiafoe was upset in the second round by Cameron Norrie on Wednesday).

Blake’s best singles performance at Wimbledon came in 2006 and 2007, when he reached the third round.

“Partly it’s my fault; I wish I had gone further,” Blake said. “Arthur inspired so many players and brought more of us into the sport, but winning Wimbledon isn’t easy.”

What is easy, and something Blake takes pride in, is the enduring recognition of Ashe’s historic victory, especially when it’s shown on film.

“It’s fun to watch those old clips and the grainy footage of the 1975 Wimbledon final,” Blake said. “That match point and Arthur holding his fist high, it’s seared into my memory. It’s such a defining moment for tennis, and especially for African American tennis.”