Episode description

Althea Gibson made sporting history in 1957 - the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon title.

She also won the US Open and the French Open.

Raised on the streets of Harlem, her story is remarkable. And yet she is relatively unknown.

Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at Edinburgh University, champions Althea's life.

With writer Sally H Jacobs, who is writing a new biography of the tennis star.

Presenter: Matthew Parris

Produced at BBC Audio in Bristol by Chris Ledgard.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2021.