But the historic match symbolized the tension Ash has faced throughout his career; the weight of expectations from the tennis world, the racism he faced as a black athlete, and his humanitarian work.
“I think I can handle just about anything. As an African American athlete, I have experienced racism as a tennis player way back,” Ash says in an interview with the documentary. “I’ve played extraordinary matches under incredible circumstances, but Wimbledon has tied my whole life together.”
“Just to think that he (Ash) could perform on the tennis court the way he did and then decide to be an activist the way he was, which a lot of black players would be uncomfortable doing at the time… he was just very different ,” Washington told CNN Sport.
“There just weren’t many black players”
“It was great to be compared to him, but considering I turned pro in 1989 and he, you know, won Grand Slams in the 1960s and 70s, this just shows you a glaring, obvious fact. that there weren’t many of them. black players since he last won his last major,” he says.
Like Washington, Ash started playing tennis at an early age.
As his tennis skills improved, Ash needed to step up as the opponents he faced. However, his options were limited by segregation. For example, he was often shunned at the nearby Bird Park youth tournament because the public tennis courts were “whites only”.
“All muscles and no brains”
Ash rose to prominence in the world of tennis, his reluctance to speak out on social issues affecting black communities in the US caused friction between him and members of the civil rights movement.
“All around me, I saw these athletes coming forward trying to demand civil rights. But I still had mixed feelings,” Ash says in an interview in the film. “There were times when I felt like maybe I was a coward for not doing certain things, not joining this protest or whatever.”
Early in his career, Ash balanced between maintaining political neutrality to appease his white colleagues and publicly denouncing the racism faced by black athletes.
“I feel confusion about what an athlete should be, especially in an African American context. There are still myths around the world about black athletes because we tend to be disproportionately good at athletics,” adds Ash. “Some people think we are all muscular and brainless. And I like to fight this myth.”
Speaking of Ash’s observation, Washington says, “The myth continued, the racism continued, the discrimination continued.
“I perfectly understand how Arthur felt. The irony is that at the time he was the most intelligent person on the tour.”
Turning point
In 1968, after Ash graduated from UCLA and served in the US Army, the American political landscape changed.
The two figureheads of the African American equality movement are civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and politician Robert F. Kennedy – were killed within two months of each other.
Speaking about King’s murder, Ash said: “I was very angry. I also felt a little helpless. It would be different now, because, I mean, he looked like our knight in shining armor.
“As a black American, I felt the need to do something urgently, but I didn’t know what it was.”
Ash’s speech marked a turning point in his tennis career. Instead of his platform preventing him from taking a stand on political issues, he began to use it as a vehicle for social change.
“Calm and confident determination”
“A lot of people were against him leaving, but he went anyway, which just shows you, you know, the power to do what’s right. The power to speak up, follow your conscience and just do the right thing,” says Washington.
He married photographer Jeanne Muthoussami-Esh in 1977 and had a daughter, Camera, in December 1986.
After retiring from tennis in 1980 and a subsequent five-year captaincy on the US Davis Cup team, Ash developed a plan to energize athletes.
He had the ability to facilitate subtle discussions between opposite sides of the political spectrum, a skill Washington said was “a special gift.”
“His behavior kind of reminds me of Nelson Mandela,” adds Washington. “That’s why it’s one of the reasons he was able to do what he could do, do what he could do.
“It’s very powerful when you have a very calm and confident determination.”
“Arthur would come in and make statements that, apart from the gentility, the politeness, the intelligence, the calmness, his statement would be more militant than mine,” says Edwards, a human rights activist and professor of sociology. interview in the documentary.
“To this day, we have not found another person who could speak to both sides of the barricades, and this bridge has become so critical,” adds Edwards.
Inspiring a generation of athletes
“What I don’t want is to be thought of when all is said and done as… or remembered as a great tennis player. I mean, it’s not a contribution to society,” Ash says in an interview in the documentary.
Washington says Ash has “created a roadmap of sorts” for today’s athletes to be active.
“Not everyone can be Arthur Ashe. Not everyone can be Nelson Mandela… these are giants in the world of activism,” says Washington. “I don’t think there has ever been a tennis player as active and loud as he is.”
