Before greats such as Althea Gibson, Zina Garrison, and Venus & Serena Williams took the tennis world by storm, Ora Washington was undoubtedly the first black woman sports superstar. With monikers like 'Queen Ora' and 'The Queen of Tennis,' Washington impressed sports fans with her prowess not only in tennis, but on the basketball court as well.
Having won 12 straight doubles championships and nine single titles in a row at the American Tennis Association (ATA), Washington paved the way for black female players to shine in tennis during her active years from 1924 to 1937. She also played as a center and later as the Philadelphia Tribune women's team coach for the better part of the 1930s and 1940s.
Only a few in today's generation have probably heard of Washington, owing to how her legend was previously regarded as merely a footnote in tennis history. Yet after an extraordinary career in tennis and basketball, her testament to American athletics will always be considered one of the most illustrious in its history.
An astonishing career
Standing at 5 feet and 7 inches in her 59-kilogram frame, Ora Washington didn't look like she was cut out to be a sports superstar at first. On the 23rd of January, 1898, in Caroline County, she was born to James and Laura Washington in Virginia. By 1912, the family moved to Philadelphia's Germantown area in search of better opportunities.
Unlike many tennis champions today, Washington was pretty much a late bloomer developing her athletic abilities. She was 25 years old when her sister passed away, and as a form of diversion to the sadness it brought about, she joined competitive tennis trying her hand at the local YWCA. Within a year of taking up the sport, Washington won her first national championship.
The ATA allowed Washington to shine on the court, winning the ATA national titles for eight consecutive years. The Black press took notice of her achievements, yet white sports journalists continued to refuse coverage of her matches. However, one particular sportswriter from the New York Times and former tennis pro, Arthur Ashe, recognized Washington as perhaps the best female athlete who ever lived.
Soon, Washington's athletic caliber was undeniable, gaining her wider press attention through her back-to-back wins in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles championships. Fans called Helen Moody, the most famous white female player during the time, to engage in a special tennis match against Washington. It was evident that Washington was looking forward to a one-on-one against the USLTA's number 1, who had 19 major titles under her belt. Unfortunately, Moody and tennis organizers refused the challenge due to the racial segregation laws at the time.
In her basketball career, Washington led both the Germantown Hornets and the Philadelphia Tribune women's team in scoring figures, giving the latter 11 straight finals crowns in the Colored Women's World Championships. Despite being positioned as a center, Washington was considered an all-around player who was agile on both hands and could even steal the ball from her smaller and faster counterparts.
Never forgotten
Doing a quick Google search of Ora Washington might only give you a few hits. You'd probably find how Washington trained with other black female tennis greats such as Althea Gibson – the first black player to win a grand slam title back in 1956. But when it comes to chronicling Washington's entire career and match-per-match highlights, you would probably struggle finding many with substance.
If there's one thing most tennis fans and players will remember about Washington, how the champion helped push then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to make tennis more accessible to black players would probably be top of mind. After being impressed by Washington, Roosevelt gave the green light to fund more public tennis courts in urban communities across the USA.
However, the Chicago Defender documented how Washington practically won every set she played and how superior she was against her opponents, save for her defeat against Lulu Ballard. The latter claimed the ATA title in 1936 to end Washington's winning streak.
The New York Age, a renowned publication circulated by the city's black community during the time, also praised Washington’s caliber for being at par with other sports greats such as Joe Louis.
In Ashe's book A Hard Road To Glory, the author observed Washington's unique playing style of gripping her racket halfway from the tip of the handle and mostly refraining from full swings. Ashe said her strength came from her unmatched footwork and speed, which was clearly developed from her time playing basketball. Washington was not a big believer of training and chose to do her warm-ups during matches.
Though Washington's prominence came when the government widely enforced racial segregation and sports such as tennis and basketball were considered male-dominated games, sports pundits and tennis enthusiasts can ever forget the champion's storied career.
That distinction can be attributed to the likes of Pamela Grundy, who took the time to dig deep into Washington's early life as one of nine children living on a Virginia farm. Grundy was also the one who noted that Washington worked for white families as a housekeeper before joining the YWCA in 1918, and even after retirement.
Modern sports journalist Claude Johnson also kept an eye on Ora Washington since he first came up with a list of African-American basketball pioneers. It was Johnson who staunchly recommended Washington's enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
After retiring from singles tournaments at age 40, Washington continued playing mixed doubles, particularly with her teammate, seven-time singles titleholder George Stewart. Together, the two defeated Dr. Robert Johnson and another rising black female star, then 17-year old Althea Gibson, who she soon took under her wing. She retired from competitive tennis in 1938, continuing her life as a housekeeper and coach to young aspiring tennis players from Germantown.
Washington died on the 28th of May 1971 at the age of 73. Posthumously, she was inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame in 1976, and later into Temple University's Hall of Fame in 1986. Twenty-three years later, Washington was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2018, she was finally enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
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