On Sept. 13, American tennis star Ben Shelton will spar with Alexander Zverev of Germany for the coveted U.S. Open Men’s Singles title. But even before a new champion is crowned, Shelton has already made history as the first Black American man to reach a U.S. Open final in more than a half cent ury. The first was the late Arthur Ashe, a trailblazing tennis star and civil rights advocate, who in 1968 became the first Black man to win a grand slam singles title. And the Flushing Meadows stadium in Queens, where the Open is being played today, bears his name. As Shelton goes for the trophy, many are remembering Ashe’s contributions to the sport and beyond. “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic,” Ashe once said. “It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” Shelton won the semifinals match on Sept. 11 against Frances Tiafoe, who’s also a Black American player, in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory. If Shelton wins on Sunday, he also could become the U.S.’ first men’s major winner since Andy Roddick in 2003. U.S. Open Tennis 19 hours ago Frances Tiafoe's U.S. Open run ends with a semifinal loss to fellow American Ben Shelton U.S. Open Tennis Sep 11 Serena Williams surprises loyal fans with tickets to the 2026 U.S. Open But decades before the 23-year-old Shelton even held a tennis racket, Arthur Ashe was lighting up the court. Ashe, who died in 1993 at the age of 49, boasted a long list of wins and accolades including an Australian Open finals win in 1970 and a Wimbledon championship in 1975. And his legacy as the only Black man to win the singles title at the U.S. Open remains today. Ashe, who was born in 1943, grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where he learned to play tennis on segregated courts near his home. Ashe, whose mother died just before he turned seven years old, ended up meeting Ronald Charity in 1950. The moment changed the trajectory of his life. Charity, a part-time student at Virginia Union University and a tennis instructor, was considered one of the top Black tennis players in the country at the time. And he invited Ashe to play with him, eventually training the young player for three years, according to the Richmond Tennis Association. Ashe would go on to meet Walter Johnson, his lifelong coach, through Charity. “My dad took him under his wing and taught him as far as he could,” Khris Charity, Ronald Charity’s son, told RTA. Ashe’s talent was undeniable and after moving to St. Louis where he was finally able to compete in more integrated tournaments, his star began to rise. His skills earned him a full scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles. It was during his college years that he was named to the U.S. national team for the Davis Cup, an international tennis tournament, becoming the first Black player to do so. He would go on to captain the team in 1980. Ashe’s iconic moment came in 1968, when he bested Tom Okker of the Netherlands in five sets to win the U.S. Open. At the time, Ashe was serving as a second lieutenant in the military while managing to keep up with the sport. Because Ashe was an amateur, he was unable to take the $14,000 prize. Okker ended up going home with the money. Ashe would make his final appearance at the U.S. Open championships in 1972, losing to Romania’s Ilie Năstase in five sets. The fight for civil rights became a focus of Ashe’s life, particularly after he was denied a visa in 1969 to travel to South Africa due to apartheid in the country. Ashe vocally opposed the policy and continued applying for visas, getting denied on multiple attempts. He used the issue to successfully get the country banned from the Davis Cup in 1970 because of the discriminatory policy. It wasn’t until 1972 that Ashe was able to enter the country. And after doing so, he took note of segregation that felt eerily similar to that of the environment he grew up around, he wrote in his 1993 memoir “Days of Grace.” “I looked apartheid directly in the face, saw the appalling WHITES ONLY and NONWHITES ONLY signs, the separate and drastically unequal facilities very much like those of my childhood in Virginia,” he wrote in the memoir. “I saw the sneer of superiority on the faces of many whites, and the look of obsequiousness, fatalism, cynicism, and despair on the faces of many blacks.” Ashe continued his advocacy across several issues, speaking out about racial and socioeconomic injustices. He co-founded several organizations including the National Junior Tennis League, the Artists and Athletes Against Apartheid and the Association of Tennis Professionals. He also wasn’t afraid to rock the boat. In 1985 he was arrested during an anti-apartheid demonstration outside the Embassy of South Africa in Washington, D.C., and again in 1992 for protesting the treatment of Haitian refugees outside of the White House. He became an advocate for more AIDS and HIV research and education after he contracted HIV from a tainted blood transfusion during heart-bypass surgery in 1983. While he kept the news private for years, he opened up about his illness in 1992 during an emotional press conference with his wife Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe by his side. “Despair is a state of mind to which I refuse to surrender,” Ashe wrote in his memoir. He launched two more organizations after his diagnosis, the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Ashe died in 1993 due to AIDS-related pneumonia. His funeral was attended by thousands, from then-New York City mayor David Dinkins to civil rights icon Jesse Jackson. “He brought a level of conscience to the game, whether he was speaking on South Africa or inner-city minorities or exclusionary policies anyplace. Arthur’s influence on tennis didn’t fade after he left the sport,” former tennis player Pam Shriver, a Tennis Hall of Famer, told the New York Times in an obituary for Ashe. Civil rights leader and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Andrew Young, who was a friend of Ashe’s, spoke about the player’s legacy during the eulogy at Ashe’s memorial service. “He took the burden of race and wore it as a cloak of dignity,” Young said. This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: What Do The U.S. Open Champions Win? Is tennis the world’s healthiest sport? Doctors weigh in on US Open slogan Ben Shelton Beats Frances Tiafoe To Reach U.S. Open Final Against Alexander Zverev ...read more read less