The U.S. Open Celebrates 75th Anniversary of Alumna Althea Gibson’s Historic Debut
NEW YORK – The 2025 U.S. Open in Flushing, New York was dedicated to the remarkable accomplishments of Florida A&M University alumna and tennis icon Althea Gibson, who turned professional in 1950, breaking the color barrier in professional tennis. Gibson, who attended FAMU on a tennis scholarship, would go on to win five Grand Slam singles titles, including consecutive U.S. Open and Wimbledon championships in 1957 and 1958.
Honoring the 75th anniversary of Gibson’s historic feat of integrating tennis, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) pulled out all stops to ensure that it was a celebration fit for a queen. Since 2020, the U.S. Open has displayed and honored HBCU culture at the U.S. Open titled HBCU Live.
On Friday, Aug. 22, members of the Beta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., of FAMU performed at a celebration recognizing soror Gibson, hosted by alumni Rashan Ali with DJ Radio Champ mixing the sounds. The FAMU Women’s Tennis team was also featured in the activities. Head Coach Rochelle “Nikki” Houston attended the event with her team.
FAMU Marching “100” during perfromance. (Photo special to FAMU)
Wednesday, Aug. 27, was a big day to begin the second round of the tournament. The reigning ESPN Band of the Year, FAMU’s famed Marching “100,” literally took center stage. The band did five mini-performances to welcome guests into the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. With over 100,000 patrons attending daily, they met the guests with five shows spread out to the highest traffic times of entry to the venue.
The entire U.S. Open facility was adorned with posters, displays, marqees and kiosks bearing the image of Althea Gibson. The official event logo for this year’s open was an innovative silhouette of Gibson’s profile, with a US Open-blue tennis court in the background.The souvenir shop had items from posters to coffee mugs bearing the logo.
Additionally, more FAMU culture was injected into the event. Popular FAMU DJs “DJ Bo Weezy,” “DJ Nyla,” “DJ Toure” and “DJ R-tistic” controlled the sounds all day in the Arthur Ashe Garden outside of the actual arena. Inside the arena “DJ Fly Guy” controlled the sounds.
FAMU Cheerleaders performing on center court of the Arthur Ashe Stadium. (Photo special
to FAMU)
That evening, FAMU President Marva Johnson J.D., joined the festivities as the Marching “100,” and FAMU Cheerleaders performed on center court of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the prime venue for the U.S. Open. The contingent of 30 band members were led by FAMU head drum major Oluwamodupe Oloyede. FAMU Director of Bands Shelby Chipman directed the activities throughout the day. They thrilled the crowd with their performance to a loud ovation. Several FAMU alumni attended the event and took the opportunity to take photos with the band members.
To conclude the night, Johnson was accompanied by Oloyede to toss the coin for the
match pitting Mattia Bellucci against the No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz. They met the
athletes at center court and Johnson tossed the coin to officially start the match.
After the toss, which went in Bellucci’s favor, Alcaraz lived up to his billing and
proceded to win the match in straight sets.
Tuba player for the FAMU Marching "100". (Photo special to FAMU)
As the U.S. Open celebrates her legacy, Florida A&M University proudly joins in honoring Althea Gibson — a Rattler whose vision, resilience and excellence changed the course of sports history.
Media Contact:
Alonda Thomas
alonda.thomas@famu.edu
