MARY ANN SEAMES
Although she did not play tennis until she was 35, Mary Ann “Mother” Seames became one of the first black coaches to receive national recognition in the US. In 1912 she helped found the Chicago Prairie Tennis Club. One of the first private black tennis clubs, it still gives opportunities to African American players.
LESLIE ALLEN
After playing college tennis for the University of Southern California, Leslie Allen went on to become the first black player to win a tournament on the Women’s Tennis Association tour with her triumph in Detroit in 1981. After retiring in 1987 she became a television broadcaster and tennis administrator, joining the WTA tour’s board of directors.
ORA BELLE WASHINGTON
Ora Belle Washington went unbeaten from 1924 to 1936 in tournaments organised by the American Tennis Association, which had been set up by black clubs after African American players were barred from United States National Lawn Tennis Association events. She was said to have challenged Helen Wills Moody, the greatest white player of her time, to a match several times, but never received a reply.
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