The Tennis Podcast

Following on from our most recent edition of Tennis Re-Lived on the life of Althea Gibson, in this episode we turn our attention to Arthur Ashe.We cover his formative years growing up in Virginia under the Jim Crow laws, his development as an amateur tennis player while at college, his Grand Slam titles, his fights for civil rights and social justice, his passing from AIDS, and his enduring legacy.Along the way, James Blake reveals how he indirectly credits Ashe with getting him into tennis, Leslie Allen talks about what it was like at Dr Johnson’s training facility for African-American players, Steve Flink analyses Ashe’s 1968 US Open victory and what made him so exciting to watch, Richard Evans discusses Ashe’s tactical masterclass against Jimmy Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final , John McEnroe describes his special relationship with Ashe, Mary Carillo tells some of her favourite stories involving Arthur to explain what he was like, and Chanda Rubin reflects on his impact in tennis.After looking closely at