Champions

played doubles. No one had spoken to her, let alone asked her to play doubles. It was out of the question. This is how she came to me in the first place and how I came to her.” But that’s who Buxton was—unafraid to speak her mind and to do what she thought, and knew, to be right. For all of us in tennis, and in sports at large, Bux- ton was a pioneer for equal rights. She embraced Gibson at a time when African- American athletes faced open racism and prejudice, just as Buxton herself faced prejudice over her own faith. And the duo proved that it didn’t matter who you were, where you came from, the color of Buxton (left) and Gibson (right) your skin or the faith you embraced—for receive the Ladies' Doubles trophy at the 1956 Wimbledon champions prevail. from the Duchess of Kent. When Gibson suffered health issues and hard times in the early 1990s, it was PIONEERS IN TENNIS Buxton who came to the rescue when other tennis organizations declined to help, spearheading a drive that raised Honoring Angela nearly $1 million from donors around the world and helping to extend Gibson’s With selflessness and determination, life—and quality of life—for a decade (Gibson died in 2003 at the age of 76). tennis champion Angela Buxton was a Buxton spent numerous winters in Pompano Beach, Fla., and enjoyed at- pioneer for equal rights. tending and covering the Miami Open, but when the tournament was called By Jim Martz off last March due to COVID-19, she returned to as her health began failing. She died in August at age 85. Florida teaching pro Lindsey Murphy, a native of England and friend of Bux- n the first day of the replied. “It doesn’t resemble her at all. ton’s, said Angela gave a lot of herself to 2019 US Open, the USTA Sorry to say that. I would have passed children in British tennis. unveiled a new sculpture [the statue] any day and not known who “She wanted to give English kids an honoring the late trail- it was … But the main thing is not the opportunity, particularly to come to the blazer and tennis great statue. It's what I learned from her and Orange Bowl and Junior Orange Bowl Althea O Gibson, who in 1956 became the what I enjoyed with her.” and to earn college scholarships.” first Black player to win a Grand Slam Never shy about speaking her mind, Then Murphy added: “Unfortunately, title (the French Championships). One of whether in person or in the many maga- Angela never was made a member of the the speakers at the ceremony was anoth- zine columns she wrote (she was a con- All-England Club, because she was Jew- er “outsider,” Angela Buxton, a Jewish tributing editor to my magazine, Florida ish. She used to apply every year. It was native of England who teamed with Gib- Tennis), Buxton was virtually biting the kind of ridiculous.” son to win doubles titles at the French hand that fed her—former USTA presi- Buxton, and Gibson, faced extraordi- Championships and Wimbledon in 1956, dent and tour player Katrina Adams had nary challenges in their lives and careers. and who herself reached the singles final arranged for the US Open to pay her way We all need to be grateful for their self- at the All England Club in 1956. from England to New York to participate less sacrifices and determination—and At the press conference, I asked Buxton in the statue’s unveiling. for the examples they set. • if she ever thought this day would come. At the ceremony, Buxton was asked “No, ” she said. “I was quite shocked.” how she and Gibson complemented each Jim Martz is the founder, editor I then asked how she felt about the other as doubles partners. and publisher of Florida Tennis new statue. “Well, it was terrible, actually, to begin (www.floridatennismagazine.com).

“You want an honest opinion?” she with,” she said, “because she had never PRESS ASSOCIATED

24 RACQUET SPORTS INDUSTRY February 2021 www.tennisindustrymag.com