SheltonGibsonUSO2

NEW YORK — Ben Shelton joined in honoring tennis trailblazer Althea Gibson before and after his first-round US Open win on Sunday.

The tournament is celebrating the 75th anniversary of Gibson breaking the color barrier in professional tennis. In 1950, she was the first Black player to compete in the U.S. National Championships—the event now known as the US Open.

👉 Read More: US Open honors Althea Gibson, 75 years after she broke color barrier

Before Shelton took the court against Peru’s Ignacio Buse, a video tribute played inside Arthur Ashe Stadium highlighting Gibson’s achievements and lasting impact. He also met Gibson’s family on the court before the match.

“That was a cool experience and honor for me,” Shelton said.

Gibson is featured on this year’s official US Open poster, a layered silhouette that incorporates the tournament’s iconic imagery including its famous blue-and-green hard courts, a tennis ball, the Statue of Liberty and the winners’ trophies.

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🖥️ WATCH: US Open Tournament Director Stacey Allaster on honoring Althea Gibson at this year's event

Q. You started the match with Althea Gibson's family on court, and she's getting a lot of love this year, justifiably so. Your thoughts on her contributions to the sport—people like her and (Arthur) Ashe.

BEN SHELTON: Yeah, I think it's huge. She was "the" trailblazer for African Americans in tennis.

If it wasn't for her (…) who knows if my dad is ever playing tennis, as a Black kid in Alabama in the '70s and '80s. And, you know, it still wasn't easy, obviously. But I think that they (Gibson and Ashe) are the ones who made it possible.

So, yeah, it was a great honor to be on court with her family at the start of the match today. The nicest people ever.

That was a cool experience and honor for me.

Shelton also paid tribute to his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, a former ATP pro who reached No. 55 in the world in the early 1990s before coaching at the University of Florida. He stepped down from that role to join his son’s team full time in 2023.

“I think that my dad has a great outlook on things, because as difficult as things were for him, he always thought that he was in control of his own destiny,” Shelton explained.

“He didn't want to handicap himself by thinking he was behind anyone else—whether it was getting into a great college and finishing a very difficult engineering degree, or being a professional tennis player.”

Shelton, the tournament’s No. 6 seed, will face Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta next. His best US Open result is a semifinal run in 2023.

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