Tennis History

The Davis Cup at Cherry Hills Country Club

In September 1963, the United States of America hosted a Davis Cup match against Venezuela at Cherry Hills Country Club. Though the USA won 5-0, the often overlooked fact is that Arthur Ashe made his debut for the United States, winning his match over Orlando Bracamonte (6-1, 6-1, 6-0) and becoming the first African-American to play in the Davis Cup.

Arthur Ashe compiled a dominant 28-7 record in the Davis Cup, captained the American team to two titles in the 1980s, and won the 1968 U.S. Open, making him the first African-American to win any grand slam title in tennis. That was in addition to being the NCAA singles champion and a Wimbledon and Australian Open champion.

But he was not only an accomplished tennis player. He advocated for civil rights and humanitarian causes around the world, wrote a three-volume history of black athletes in America, and fought against AIDS, the disease he acquired from a tainted blood transfusion during heart surgery in 1983, which cost him his life in 1993.

This transformational athlete broke a longstanding racial barrier and launched a celebrated international career in tennis at Cherry Hills Country Club in 1963.