Who was the first African American woman to win Wimbledon?

Althea Gibson was the first African American woman to win Wimbledon.

Gibson broke through tennis’s color barrier during the 1950s. In 1956, she became the first Black player to win a Grand Slam tournament by taking the French Championships singles title. The following year, she won the Wimbledon women’s singles championship, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6–3, 6–2.

Her 1957 Wimbledon victory made Gibson the tournament’s first Black singles champion. She also won the doubles title that year with Angela Buxton, and she successfully defended her singles crown in 1958. Gibson was the first champion to receive the Wimbledon trophy personally from Queen Elizabeth II.

The wording sometimes causes confusion because Gibson was also the first African American to win a Grand Slam tournament, at the French Championships in 1956. Her Wimbledon breakthrough came later, in 1957. After tennis, she became the first Black woman to compete on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour in 1964.