YANNICK NOAH
Pictured with Arthur Ashe, who discovered him at a tennis clinic in Cameroon when he was only 11, Yannick Noah (right) went on to become the first Frenchman to win Roland Garros for 37 years when he beat Mats Wilander in the 1983 final. No Frenchman has won the title since. Noah went on to captain France’s Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams and enjoyed a successful career as a singer.
EVONNE GOOLAGONG
Born into an indigenous Australian family, Evonne Goolagong won the first of her seven Grand Slam singles titles at the French Open in 1971. She won Wimbledon later that summer and in 1980 became the first mother since 1914 to claim the All England Club singles title. In 1972 she became the first non-white competitor to play in a tournament in apartheid South Africa. Since her retirement in 1983 she has worked to help young indigenous Australians and has most recently mentored Ashleigh Barty.
NDUKA ODIZOR
Nduka “The Duke” Odizor, Nigeria’s most successful tennis player, represented the University of Houston and went on to enjoy a good professional career. At Wimbledon in 1983 he beat Guillermo Vilas before losing in the fourth round to Chris Lewis. The Duke Odizor International Tennis Foundation today provides tennis equipment for children in Nigeria.
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