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| New
Jersey Tennis Stars |
June
2003
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Althea
Gibson of East Orange was a tennis sensation in
the 1950s whose triumph on the clay courts of the French
Tennis Championships of 1956 made her the first black
woman ever to win a Grand
Slam singles title. The following year she earned
the number one ranking in women's tennis and went on
to win singles titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S.
Championships, a feat she repeated in 1958. Gibson
retired from tennis after the 1958 season and later
chose golf as a second career, playing on the LPGA
tour from 1964-71. She was inducted into the Tennis
Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Sports Hall of Fame of
New Jersey in 1994.
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| Bessie
Holmes Moore of Ridgewood took the tennis
world by storm as a 16-year-old in 1892, winning the
national lawn tennis competition in Philadelphia. Known
as the "little girl from New Jersey," she went
on to win the national women's lawn tennis singles title
four more times in 1896, 1901, 1903, and 1905. |
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Nicole
Arendt of Somerville turned pro in 1991 and is currently
ranked 26 in the world in women's doubles. The Hun School
of Princeton graduate holds 16 career Women's Tennis
Association (WTA) doubles titles and won the tour sportsmanship
award in 1993. In 1997 Arendt reached a career-high singles
ranking of 49 and a career-high doubles ranking of three
in the world. Before playing professionally, she was
a four-time All American (singles and doubles) at the
University of Florida, where she won the 1991 NCAA Championships
in women's doubles. She finished school with an incredible
145 singles wins and was inducted into the university's
hall of fame in 2001. |
| Justin
Gimelstob of Livingston turned pro in 1996 and is
currently ranked 88 in the world in men's singles. In
1998 he won two Grand
Slam titles in mixed doubles at the Australian Open
and Roland Garros. He had his best year in doubles in
1999, winning five titles with four different players
and attaining the doubles ranking of 55 in the world.
As a freshman at UCLA, Gimelstob helped his team to the
1996 NCAA final where he won the doubles title. For the
past four years he has paired with Saint Barnabas Medical
Center to present the 2002 Tennis Challenge in Chatham.
The annual event benefits the Child Life Program and
consists of clinics for beginner players and exhibition
matches between tennis pros. |
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Next: Tennis
Legends Play in New Jersey
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