Arthur ashe biography

Early Years

Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was born on July 10, 1943, to Mattie Cunningham Ashe and Arthur Robert Ashe Sr., two middle-class African Americans living in strictly segregated Richmond. His mother died before he was seven, but not before teaching him to read at an early age. Small in stature, Ashe took to tennis from the age of four, mostly thanks to his father’s job as caretaker at Brook Field, one of Richmond’s Blacks-only playgrounds.

The Ashe home was located in the middle of the playground.

When he was seven, Ashe was befriended by Ronald Charity, a gifted Black tennis player and coach. Charity took a keen interest in Ashe and taught him the nuances of the game.

Life Story - Arthur Ashe Legacy

By 1953 it was obvious that the ten-year-old Ashe had talent but needed a mentor and coach. Enter Dr. Walter Johnson, a Black physician and tennis coach in Lynchburg who had discovered Althea Gibson, the “Jackie Robinson” of tennis and Wimbledon singles champion in 1957 and 1958. Johnson g arthur ashe biography book RAV