Black History Month: Five men who changed the game

All throughout February, black history is being celebrated. Tennis has been inspired and transformed by people of all races and backgrounds. Past players have paved the way for the success of many players on tour today, such as Frances Tiafoe, Donald Young and Christopher Eubanks.

Here is a look back on the careers of some of the most influential black male players to ever grace the game.

1

Before becoming a professional player, Bryan Shelton played tennis for the Georgia Institute of Technology between 1985 and 1988. In his relatively short eight-year playing career, he won two career titles in Newport in 1991 and 1992. A former world No. 55, the American became a Grand Slam finalist after reaching the mixed doubles final at the 1992 French Open with Lori McNeil.

2

MaliVai Washington

MaliVai Washington also began his career in college, having competed at the University of Michigan where he became the top-ranked college player in the nation by the end of his sophomore season. During his professional career he won four singles titles and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 11. In 1996, he reached the finals of Wimbledon and also made a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open.

The American hung up his racquet in 1999 with 254 career victories, and has since immersed himself in non-profit work, starting the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation. He won the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award in 2009 and the NJTL Founders’ Service Award in 2015.

3

Yannick Noah

The French legend made his mark on tennis with a career that spanned nearly two decades. From 1977 to 1996, he won 23 singles and 16 doubles titles, including the French Open in 1983 and then the doubles crown there in 1984. He's the last black male player to have won a Grand Slam. Noah reached a career high of No. 1 in doubles and No. 3 in singles, and is still France’s highest ranked male singles player in history. Since retiring, Noah has built a career as a singer in Europe, where he has recorded twelve albums, and has co-founded a non-profit called Noah’s Arc Foundation. Until last year, he was the captain of the French Davis Cup team.

4

James Blake

Blake retired from tennis in August 2013 after winning 10 titles. With a career-high ranking of world No. 4, the American reached the finals of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2006, the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2008, and the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2005 and 2006.

In 2005, he was named Comeback Player of the Year after struggling through a shingles diagnosis and dealing with the death of his father. Blake was also awarded the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year in 2008.

5

Arthur Ashe

A man who needs no introduction, Ashe is not just the most successful black tennis player, but also one of the best, period. Retiring with a 1,085-337 record, he was the first African-American player to join the U.S. Davis Cup team and the first, and only, African-American man to have won Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.

After his retirement, Ashe would write for Time Magazine and the Washington Post, work as a commentator for ABC Sports, create the National Junior Tennis League (NJTL) and captain the U.S. Davis Cup team. Just months after his death in 1993, Ashe was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-president Bill Clinton.