A conversation with authors Frances Clayton Gray & Yanick Rice Lamb.

When Frances Clayton Gray, executive director of the Althea Gibson Foundation and executor of the Althea Gibson Estate, was looking for a writer to help her write the authorized biography of the legendary black tennis player, Yanick Rice Lamb immediately jumped at the opportunity. After all, as Lamb says, "I was born in 1957, right around the time that Althea won Wimbledon the first time around. I was amazed that the opportunity even existed, because when you look at a lot of athletes and people who are pioneers--people who accomplished something in different fields--there is usually several biographies about them. I was surprised that there wasn't one that was comprehensive that spoke from the beginning to the end, and I was happy to have the opportunity to do that."

Lamb had always been aware of Gibson and her accomplishments, but over a two-year period, at the time when she was hired to work on the book, there were a few new things she learned about Gibson. "I didn't know she also played golf and was the first black woman in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), after her Wimbledon victories. That was in the 1960s, when she was in her early 30's, so she came to golf late in life."

But life in golf was just as challenging, if not tougher than her tennis career. Racism was stilt rampant in America, particularly on the golf course. She had situations were she wasn't allowed into some of the clubhouses and country clubs, where she played. And though she had become a member of the LPGA, the position of its officials was often frustrating for her The LPGA at the time was a fairly young organization, and while on one hand they wanted her to be a part of the organization, on the other hand they were still trying to get sponsors "It was a catch 22," Lamb explains "They did end up canceling same sponsorships for something when they didn't want her to be involved, or certain clubs wouldn't open their doors for her. But they also told her to be patient and work with them. There were some things that happened quickly, but some things took a little more time. And many times she had to change clothes h/the car."

According to Gray, Gibson was never bitter: Some things she ignored because of times she lived in, however she never received the recognition or made the money from endorsements that many of her white peers were making at the time She lived a very ordinary life in East Orange, New Jersey. This was why Gray pushed for the publication of this book. Gray felt a responsibility on her part to write the book.

"She had done so much, and never got the level of respectability some other celebrities had attained," Gray says. "I thought that through the years there was a basic misperception about the enormous contribution that Althea had made there is this misconception that Arthur Ashe was the first black major tennis champion to win a Grand Slam, and just general kinds of facts about Althea aren't out there. I wanted to update the record and try to correct some of the misconceptions that were out there."

Lamb the essence of Gibson was in her knowing that she was true to herself. "She believed in herself and she was determined to accomplish whatever it is she set out to do." And, Gibson did face many obstacles, aside from racial issues. For instance, in the 1950s, it wasn't popular for women to go into sports. Her family was relatively poor, and at one stage in her life she needed people to financially support her.

Yet, ultimately in the end, explains Gray, she had no fear of challenging the white world with a tennis racket.