A Once-in-a-Lifetime Evening at Wimbledon
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Arthur Ashe’s historic win at Wimbledon, Renaissance Foundation were invited to attend a VIP screening of ‘Citizen Ashe’ hosted by the All England Club. Elijah shares his experience of this once-in-a-lifetime event.
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On Wednesday 23rd April, Renaissance Foundation were invited to attend a VIP screening of the Arthur Ashe film ‘Citizen Ashe’ at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club (where the annual Wimbledon championships take place), marking 50 years since Ashe became the first Black man to win Wimbledon. The film explores Ashe’s life, from his achievements on the court to his pivotal achievements and work on race and HIV activism. As well as watching the film, we were treated to a three-course meal and had the opportunity to speak with influential and prominent names in tennis and beyond.
Wimbledon is a venue I've had an emotional connection to since I was a young child. I grew up watching the championships every summer - I would turn on BBC and watch as much of the action as I could. I was obsessed with it. I’ve always been fascinated by centre court, watching the players make the greatest walk in tennis (it takes 2 minutes to walk from the competitors’ dressing room to centre court!) to arrive onto the court in front of 15,000 rapturous fans.
Some of the greatest sporting spectacles have taken place on that court, at that venue, at those championships. When Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer duked it out for nearly five hours in the 2008 Men’s final, in a match that is widely regarded as maybe the tennis match ever played. When Novak Djokovic, in another classic, saved two championship points against Roger Federer in the 2019 Men’s final en route to winning his fifth Wimbledon title.
However, the standout memory I have from Wimbledon and centre court is from 2013, when Sir Andy Murray became the first British player to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, to the jubilation of the whole country. To be invited to this special event hosted by the All England Club was a dream come true for me. The opportunity to meet some former players and very prominent names in tennis was also extremely exciting.
Moving away from the magic of Wimbledon, ‘Citizen Ashe’ was terrific. More than anything, the work of Arthur Ashe is incredibly inspiring and is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. Certainly, he was taken too early, but his impact and legacy lives on well beyond him. Arthur Ashe was the first Black man to win Wimbledon, beating Jimmy Connors in the final in 1975. He waltzed into a sport closed off to Black people; it was only in 1950 that a Black player first competed at Wimbledon (Althea Gibson), and made their mark on and off the court.
‘Citizen Ashe’ powerfully illustrates Ashe’s story and how he uses tennis as a platform to tackle discrimination, racism, and segregation. Ashe famously stated that “we’re thought of as all brawn and no brains - I like to challenge that myth”. Refusing to play into depictions of black people in the media, Ashe carried himself with grace, poise, and class. It was hard to do anything but respect this man. Ashe lived in the way he thought was right, fighting hard for human rights and racial equality.
Ashe was a man who lived and breathed his values; he also was a man who learned and grew and was open minded. For example, at the start of his career, he wasn’t exactly supportive of the fight for equal pay in the women’s game and men’s game, but this stance changed as his career and life went on, and he joined the fight. Furthermore, he was initially reluctant to become a vocal activist, but he eventually embraced his platform to speak out about Apartheid in South Africa and to express support for the Civil Rights movement in America.
His story and work are deeply impactful to me as a young African British man, who is himself passionate about social change and about diversity in all areas of society. Furthermore, the struggle of facing extra difficulties due to colour is an ongoing one, one that I will continue to fight to change. Certainly, Ashe is a shining example for all of us. He was an incredible tennis player but more importantly, he was an incredible human being. At Renaissance Foundation, we want to inspire, educate, and empower young people to become compassionate world citizens, to equip them to advocate for positive change in their communities and in the world. The Arthur Ashe project, inspired by his legacy, demonstrates to our young people what a true global citizen and role model looks like.
On the night of the event, after watching the film and taking part in a Q&A, we were treated to a delicious three-course meal and had the opportunity to talk and network further. It gave me the opportunity to talk about what Renaissance Foundation and our mission to different members of the All England Club, and to talk more tennis, sharing my love of Andy Murray and now of Carlos Alcaraz! After the meal, I lived out my dream and got to walk out onto centre court, imagining that there were 15,000 passionate fans screaming my name.
After some time for pictures on the court, as well as photos next to the trophies, it was time to wrap up the event. Certainly, it was an experience I won't forget and one I am very grateful to the All England Club for making it possible!