More than 50 years after Arthur Ashe, Black men’s tennis players reflect on a historic US Open breakthrough

Jack Manning/New York Times Co./Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The word “historic” has been thrown around a few times at this year’s US Open . But when Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe step onto Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday, they’ll make a kind of history American men’s tennis hasn’t seen in more than half a century.

For the first time, two Black American men will face each other in a US Open men’s singles semifinal. And no matter who wins, a Black American man will advance to the final for the first time since Arthur Ashe made his last finals appearance there in 1972. He lost in five sets to Romania’s Ilie Năstase.

Ashe remains the only Black American man to win a grand slam singles title. He beat Tom Okker of the Netherlands in five sets to win the US Open in 1968 – which made Ashe the first Black man from any country to win a major singles title.

Ashe went on to also win the 1970 Australian Open and Wimbledon in 1975.

It’s a milestone that’s resonating with Black tennis players across generations – and the diaspora – who see in Shelton and Tiafoe not only how far the sport has come, but what could come next.

Just ask Michael Major Jr., a 20-year-old from Nassau in the Bahamas.

Courtesy Jalisa Fulwood

“I just think having guys like that, that are the same color as you and seem so down to earth,” Major told CNN Sports . “It makes the dream seem a little more attainable because they’re just normal people at the end of the day, just like me and you.”

The senior sports medicine major is a team captain on Howard University’s men’s tennis team and one of the top players in the Bahamas. His father introduced him to tennis when he was three, and in 2025 he represented the Bahamas in the Davis Cup.

Major says he isn’t surprised Shelton and Tiafoe have reached this stage. If anything, he thinks a moment like this has been a long time coming.

“So, Mal Washington in the ’90s was the last Black (American) man that was in the finals,” he said, referring to MaliVai Washington’s 1996 Wimbledon final.

“I wasn’t born in the ’90s, so I wasn’t able to watch that match. But we had people who we’d look up to, Black players, James Blake, Gaël Monfils (from France). You had the guys who had the potential, but to see it actually happen and not just ‘they could’ or ‘they might be able to,’ it’s a different feeling for sure. And I think it’s going to cause a lot of other African American players to really make that push.”

His teammate, 21-year-old Shawn Mitchell Yon from Queens in New York agrees.

“ We weren’t able to watch James Blake and all those others compete,” the three-time NYC PSAL Singles Champion told CNN Sports. “Just seeing the start of their (Shelton and Tiafoe) careers and to where they’re at now, to get to this level, this stage. We saw the dedication, the input that they put in, the changes that they made. It’s just honestly spectacular.”

Both Major and Yon predict the semifinal will be more exciting than the men’s final on Sunday.

Washington , now 57, respectfully disagrees.

“ No question, it’s going to be a huge moment. But as big as this semifinal, it’s going to be twice as big for the final,” he told CNN Sports. “And not just since Arthur Ashe. No American man has won a grand slam title since 2003: Andy Roddick. It’s that hard, not just for a Black athlete when there’s so few on tour. For any athlete, it’s really, really hard to win a major.”

Washington says watching Shelton and Tiafoe’s runs has been thrilling – not only because of the level play, but because one of them will take a distinction he’s ready to shed.

“It’s been 30 years since my Wimbledon final in 1996, and no Black American man has been in the finals of a major since,” he said. “So that is an accolade that I’m happy to relinquish.”

The former University of Michigan All-American remembers similar comparisons following him through Wimbledon three decades ago.

“There was a significant amount of hype around ‘the first since,’ the first Black (American) man since Arthur Ashe to be in the finals of a major. And it happened to be Wimbledon when Arthur won Wimbledon in 1975,” he told CNN. “ So those comparisons and questions were consistent and ongoing and it was an honor.”

Washington faced Richard Krajicek and lost 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

“ I’ve always said that was the biggest moment of my career and I did not exceed the way I wanted to.”

He never competed again at Wimbledon and a persistent knee injury forced him to retire at the age of 30. During his career, he defeated star players like Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and Michael Chang. He was also a member of the 1996 US Olympic team and played on three Davis Cup teams.

Today, Washington plays some tennis, but spends most of his time running a real estate business and the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation he launched in 1997. It teaches tennis, life skills and financial literacy to young people.

“ I look forward to the day – this is going to sound a little weird, I think – where we don’t have to say, ‘Oh, another Black player was in the finals of the US Open. Ooh, another first time since 2026 that a Black player has won a major,’” Washington said.

“I look forward to the day when, ‘Oh, Ben Shelton won another major. Frances Tiafoe won another major,’ and that’s the story.”

Getting to the future Washington imagines – where Black men, like Black women, reaching grand slam finals is no longer remarkable – will take more than one breakthrough.

The number of Black men in grand slam finals is a short list.

France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the last Black man to reach a major singles final in 2008, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open.

In 1983, Yannick Noah of France defeated Mats Wilander to win the 1983 French Open, making him the last Black man to win a grand slam singles title.

Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images

Bryan Shelton, Ben Shelton’s father and former head coach at the University of Florida before he left the school to coach his son full time, competed in all four majors, with his deepest run coming in 1994 when he reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon . At one point, he even competed against and later coached Washington.

Today, tennis is still a predominantly White sport, especially at the professional level. According to the USTA’s 2026 US Tennis Participation Report , 3.7 million Black Americans played tennis at least once in 2025, a jump by more than 450,000 players from the previous year.

It also showed that those who identified as Hispanic or Latino accounted for 19% of participants in 2025, up from 18% in 2024, while Asian/Pacific Islander players remained steady at 11%.

Tennis development professionals like Ahsha Rolle have been thinking a lot about Shelton, Tiafoe and how to help more players participate and reach the highest levels of the sport. She’s the executive director of tennis at the New York Junior Tennis and Learning’s Cary Leeds Center and a former professional player, reaching a career-high No. 82 singles ranking.

“ I think it’s great for our kids to be able to see people that look like them on those big stages. Not just one, but also two of them,” she told CNN Sports. “ I think they oftentimes look up to the LeBron James of the world, the Patrick Mahomes. But hey, you know, tennis is a cool sport too, and maybe you all want to take up tennis one day. It’s a great career path.”

Rolle adds that players have more paths to the professional level of tennis these days and says Shelton and Tiafoe are good examples of two different ones.

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

“ Tiafoe was a high-level junior,” Rolle said. “He was the number one junior in the world actually, and then he went straight pro. And then you have Ben Shelton, who kind of went the college route. He played for the University of Florida (and) won NCAAs.”

Additionally, the American Tennis Association (ATA), the oldest African American sports organization in the US, hosts tournaments for young people who may not have played enough USTA tournaments or earned enough points to qualify for a national USTA tournament.

Despite these advancements, she says the biggest obstacles for Black players today include cost and education around what it takes to reach the top and what pathways are available, as well as access to quality coaches.

Yon credits Rolle and the coaching he received through the NYJTL for helping him play tennis at the college level, but he’d like to see more networks and spaces for Black players to support and mentor each other.

“If we all can come together, travel to tournaments, create a union or something like that, you know, that helps us with funding, helps us with finding more tournaments … we all can dominate.”

Major, his Howard teammate, says he’d like to see more investment in players who live outside of the US.

“I’d say academies could start looking at players in foreign countries. I think sometimes they could get a little narrow-minded and just look at players inside of United States. Because when it comes to like rating systems and ranking systems, I’d say in the United States it’s a bit inflated compared to the other countries. ”

In a moment of serendipitous foreshadowing to Friday’s semifinal, Tiafoe was already involved in history when he played France’s Arthur Fils in the final of the Cincinnati Open – the first time two Black players met in an ATP Masters 1000 (the highest class behind the grand slams) final.

Ahead of that historic match – which Tiafoe lost 3-6, 6-1, 0-6 – the American reflected on the positive impact it would have on the next generation.

“That’s awesome. Great representation, a bunch of kids looking up to us and wanting to be in our position,” Tiafoe told organizers, according to the tournament. “That’s what it’s about. Hopefully, we’re going to continue to have more and more big finals like this, have people of color in them. I’m super pumped about it. It’s always nice to be part of history.”

For 9-year-old Crifton Fontenelle Jr., Shelton and Tiafoe are inspiring.

The New York City fifth grader has been playing tennis for several years, practicing twice a week with a coach and hitting with his sisters. On Friday, he plans to watch the semifinal with his family.

Knowing that one of them will advance to the US Open final, he says, is “really cool.”

“It’s special, important, and really exciting for me,” he told CNN Sports. “I hope that inspires other Black boys to be just like Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.”

Fontenelle Jr. plans to start playing tournaments soon. Someday, he wants to become a professional himself.

For now, though, he’s happy simply playing.

“I like the intensity, the sportsmanship and playing with my friends.”

Jack Manning/纽约时报公司/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

在今年的美国网球公开赛上，“历史性”一词被多次提及。但当本·谢尔顿和弗朗西斯·蒂亚福周五踏上阿瑟·阿什球场时，他们将创造美国男子网球半个多世纪以来从未有过的历史。

两名非裔美国男子选手将首次在美网男单半决赛中相遇。无论谁获胜，这将是自阿瑟·阿什1972年最后一次闯入决赛以来，首位晋级决赛的非裔美国男子选手。阿什当年五盘大战负于罗马尼亚选手伊利耶·纳斯塔塞。

阿瑟至今仍是唯一一位赢得大满贯单打冠军的非裔美国男子球员。1968年，他五盘击败荷兰选手汤姆·奥克，赢得美国网球公开赛冠军——这使阿瑟成为首位赢得大满贯单打冠军的非裔男子球员（无论来自哪个国家）。

阿什后来又赢得了 1970 年澳大利亚网球公开赛和 1975 年温布尔登网球公开赛的冠军。

这是一个里程碑，引起了几代黑人网球运动员以及散居海外的黑人网球运动员的共鸣——他们从谢尔顿和蒂亚福身上不仅看到了这项运动取得了多大的发展，也看到了这项运动的未来发展方向。

问问来自巴哈马拿骚的 20 岁小伙子迈克尔·梅杰二世就知道了。

感谢 Jalisa Fulwood 提供图片

“我觉得有像他们这样的人，和你肤色一样，而且看起来非常脚踏实地，”梅杰告诉CNN体育频道。“这让梦想看起来更容易实现，因为归根结底，他们也只是普通人，就像你我一样。”

这位运动医学专业的大四学生是霍华德大学男子网球队的队长，也是巴哈马顶尖球员之一。他三岁时父亲就让他接触网球，2025年他代表巴哈马参加了戴维斯杯。

梅杰表示，谢尔顿和蒂亚福能走到这一步，他并不感到意外。恰恰相反，他认为这一刻的到来早已是众望所归。

“所以，90 年代的马尔·华盛顿是最后一位进入决赛的黑人（美国）男子，”他指的是马利瓦伊·华盛顿在 1996 年温布尔登网球公开赛上的决赛。

“我不是90年代出生的，所以没能亲眼看到那场比赛。但我们当时有很多仰慕的对象，比如黑人球员詹姆斯·布雷克、法国的盖尔·孟菲尔斯。他们都很有潜力，但亲眼见证这一切发生，而不仅仅是‘他们能做到’或者‘他们或许能做到’，感觉肯定不一样。我认为这会激励更多非裔美国球员真正努力拼搏。”

他的队友，来自纽约皇后区的 21 岁小将肖恩·米切尔·扬也同意这一观点。

“我们没能亲眼看到詹姆斯·布雷克和其他选手比赛，”这位三届纽约市公立学校体育联盟（NYC PSAL）单打冠军告诉CNN体育频道。“看着他们（谢尔顿和蒂亚福）职业生涯的起步，再看看他们现在取得的成就，达到这样的水平，登上这样的舞台，真是令人惊叹。我们看到了他们的奉献精神、投入和改变。这真的太了不起了。”

Major 和 Yon 都预测，周日的半决赛会比男单决赛更加精彩。

现年 57 岁的华盛顿对此表示异议。

“毫无疑问，这将是一个意义非凡的时刻。但即便这场半决赛已经如此重要，决赛的意义更是加倍，”他告诉CNN体育频道。“而且不仅仅是自阿瑟·阿什之后。自2003年安迪·罗迪克之后，还没有美国男子球员赢得过大满贯冠军。这真的很难，不仅仅是因为巡回赛中黑人运动员本来就很少。对任何运动员来说，赢得大满贯都非常非常难。”

华盛顿表示，观看谢尔顿和蒂亚福的比赛令人激动——不仅因为他们的水平相当，还因为他们中的一人将获得他准备摆脱的荣誉。

“自从1996年我打进温网决赛以来，已经过去了30年，此后再也没有美国黑人男子选手进入过大满贯决赛，”他说。“所以，我很乐意放弃这项荣誉。”

这位前密歇根大学全美明星球员回忆起三十年前参加温布尔登网球公开赛时，也曾被拿来与他作比较。

“当时有很多媒体都在热议我是‘自阿瑟·阿什以来首位进入大满贯决赛的黑人（美国）选手’。而阿瑟·阿什1975年赢得温网冠军时，恰好也是在温网，”他告诉CNN。“所以，各种比较和疑问一直不断，这对我来说是一种荣幸。”

华盛顿队对阵理查德·克拉伊切克，以 6-3、6-4、6-3 的比分落败。

“我一直都说那是我职业生涯中最重要的一刻，但我并没有达到我预期的高度。”

他此后再未参加过温布尔登网球公开赛，持续的膝伤迫使他在30岁时退役。在他的职业生涯中，他曾击败过安德烈·阿加西、鲍里斯·贝克尔和迈克尔·张等网球巨星。他还是1996年美国奥运代表队的成员，并代表美国队参加过三届戴维斯杯。

如今，华盛顿偶尔会打网球，但他大部分时间都花在经营房地产业务和他于 1997 年创立的马利瓦伊·华盛顿青年基金会上。该基金会向年轻人教授网球、生活技能和金融知识。

“我期待着那一天——我知道这话听起来可能有点奇怪——我们不必再说，‘哦，又一位黑人球员打进了美国网球公开赛决赛。哦，这是自2026年以来黑人球员首次赢得大满贯赛事，’”华盛顿说道。

“我期待着有一天，‘哦，本·谢尔顿又赢得了一个大满贯冠军。弗朗西斯·蒂亚福又赢得了一个大满贯冠军。’故事就此结束。”

要实现华盛顿所设想的未来——黑人男性像黑人女性一样，进入大满贯决赛不再是件了不起的事——需要的不仅仅是一次突破。

进入大满贯决赛的黑人球员寥寥无几。

法国选手乔-威尔弗雷德·特松加是上一位打进大满贯单打决赛的黑人选手，他在2008年澳大利亚网球公开赛上输给了诺瓦克·德约科维奇。

1983年，法国选手扬尼克·诺阿击败马茨·维兰德，赢得1983年法国网球公开赛冠军，成为最后一位赢得大满贯单打冠军的黑人。

多米尼克·法吉特/法新社/盖蒂图片社

本·谢尔顿的父亲布莱恩·谢尔顿曾是佛罗里达大学的网球主教练，后来离开学校全职执教儿子。他参加过四大满贯赛事，最佳战绩是在1994年温布尔登网球公开赛上打入16强。他甚至一度与华盛顿交手，后来又执教过华盛顿。

如今，网球仍然是一项以白人为主的运动，尤其是在职业层面。根据美国网球协会发布的《2026年美国网球参与报告》，到2025年，将有370万非裔美国人至少打过一次网球，比上一年增加了45万多人。

报告还显示，到 2025 年，自认为是西班牙裔或拉丁裔的参与者占 19%，高于 2024 年的 18%，而亚裔/太平洋岛民球员的比例则保持在 11% 不变。

像阿莎·罗尔这样的网球发展专家一直在思考谢尔顿和蒂亚福的例子，以及如何帮助更多球员参与这项运动并达到最高水平。她是纽约青少年网球和学习中心卡里·利兹中心的网球执行总监，也是一名前职业球员，单打最高排名曾达到世界第82位。

“我觉得这对孩子们来说太棒了，他们能看到和自己长得一样的人站在那些大舞台上。而且还不止一个，是两个，”她告诉CNN体育频道。“我觉得他们常常会崇拜像勒布朗·詹姆斯和帕特里克·马霍姆斯这样的球员。但是，你知道，网球也是一项很棒的运动，也许你们将来也想打网球。这可是条很好的职业道路。”

罗尔补充说，如今球员们通往职业网球之路的途径更多了，谢尔顿和蒂亚福就是两种不同途径的很好的例子。

马修·斯托克曼/盖蒂图片社

“蒂亚福是一位高水平的青少年球员，”罗尔说。“他实际上是世界排名第一的青少年球员，然后就直接进入了职业联赛。而本·谢尔顿则走了大学联赛这条路。他为佛罗里达大学效力，并赢得了NCAA冠军。”

此外，美国网球协会（ATA）是美国历史最悠久的非裔美国人体育组织，它为那些可能没有参加足够多的美国网球协会（USTA）比赛或获得足够积分以参加全国性USTA比赛的年轻人举办比赛。

尽管取得了这些进步，但她表示，如今黑人球员面临的最大障碍包括费用和教育方面的不足，他们不了解达到顶峰需要付出什么，有哪些途径，以及能否获得优秀教练的指导。

Yon 将自己能在大学级别打网球归功于 Rolle 和他在 NYJTL 接受的指导，但他希望看到更多网络和空间，让黑人球员能够互相支持和指导。

“如果我们能够团结起来，一起参加比赛，成立一个联盟之类的组织，你知道，这有助于我们筹集资金，帮助我们找到更多的比赛……我们就能取得胜利。”

他的霍华德队友梅杰表示，他希望看到对居住在美国以外的球员进行更多投资。

“我认为青训营应该开始关注国外的球员。有时候他们可能有点目光短浅，只关注美国国内的球员。因为就评分系统和排名系统而言，我认为美国的评分系统与其他国家相比有点虚高。”

在周五半决赛的一个巧合预示中，蒂亚福在辛辛那提公开赛决赛中对阵法国选手阿瑟·菲尔斯时，就已经创造了历史——这是两名黑人球员首次在ATP大师赛1000（大满贯之外的最高级别）决赛中相遇。

在那场历史性的比赛之前——蒂亚福以 3-6、6-1、0-6 输掉了比赛——这位美国球员反思了这场比赛将对下一代产生的积极影响。

“太棒了！这真是个了不起的榜样，很多孩子都以我们为榜样，渴望达到我们这样的高度，”蒂亚福在赛后对组织者说道。“这才是最重要的。希望以后能有更多像这样的决赛，让更多有色人种球员参与其中。我为此感到无比激动。能够成为历史的一部分，总是令人欣慰的。”

对于 9 岁的克里夫顿·方特内尔二世来说，谢尔顿和蒂亚福是他的榜样。

这位纽约市五年级学生打网球已有数年，每周与教练训练两次，并和他的姐妹们一起练习。周五，他计划和家人一起观看半决赛。

他说，知道他们之中有人会晋级美国网球公开赛决赛，“真是太酷了”。

“这对我来说意义非凡，非常重要，也令人无比兴奋，”他告诉CNN体育频道。“我希望这能激励其他黑人男孩像蒂亚福和本·谢尔顿一样。”

小丰特内尔计划很快开始参加比赛。他希望有朝一日自己也能成为一名职业选手。

不过就目前而言，他只想好好踢球。

“我喜欢比赛的激烈程度、体育精神以及和朋友们一起比赛的感觉。”