Tennis great Althea Gibson was a woman of many firsts. Like her counterpart in baseball, Jackie Robinson, Gibson had to overcome the curse of segregation before she could even step on the court.

But Gibson was determined and in 1950, when she was 23 years old, she became the first black permitted to play in the U.S. Nationals.

In her historic debut, Gibson defeated Barbara Knapp in straight sets. Her second-round match on the grass of Forest Hills was against Louise Brough, who had won the previous three Wimbledons. After being routed 6-1 in the first set, Gibson recovered to win the second set 6-3 and led 7-6 in the third when a thunderstorm struck, halting the match. When it resumed the next day, Gibson dropped three straight games to lose the match.

From that point on, however, she continued to break down the color barrier in tennis.

In 1956, Gibson made history by becoming the first black person to win the French championships. The next year, she made more history by winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals, the first black to win either. She must have liked winning the world's two most prestigious tournaments, too, because she repeated the accomplishments in 1958.

Despite the fact that she was a champion, as well as the first black to be voted by the Associated Press as its Female Athlete of the Year (won in both 1957 and 1958), she still had to deal with racism.

Even while winning tournaments she was denied rooms at hotels. One refused to book reservations for a luncheon in her honor. She said she didn't care. "I tried to feel responsibilities to Negroes, but that was a burden on my shoulders," she said in 1957. "Now I'm playing tennis to please me, not them."

Her accomplishments ended up pleasing them both. By the time Gibson stopped competing, she had a total of 11 Grand Slam victories and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

The title of her autobiography, written in 1958, was "I Always Wanted to Be Somebody." To tennis fans, she always will be. Though she didn't go looking for the role of pioneer, she was one.

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