Althea Gibson Honored With Google Doodle On Birthday

Althea Gibson is the subject of a new Google Doodle currently gracing the search engine’s homepage in the U.S. The tennis legend was born on this day in 1927.

Gibson was the first black athlete to play international tennis, and became the first to win a Grand Slam title (the French Open). She also won both Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals the following year. She won both again the year after that. She was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the AP, and won 11 Grand Slam tournaments.

Google’s doodle is an appropriately animated one, depicting Gibson moving from side to side in the heat of a match:

Gibson passed away eleven years ago at the age of 76 after complications from bladder and respiratory infections. She had already survived a heart attack.

Image via Google.com