Whirlwind: The Godfather of Black Tennis
Dr. Robert Walter Johnson was a powerful force of change in tennis that accelerated the acceptance of players of color at the highest echelons of competitive tennis. It is not a stretch to observe that the tennis careers of Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe would not have happened in the same way without the support of the doctor. “Whirlwind,” the nickname he picked up while playing college football, is an apt moniker for both his life story and influence on tennis. Whirlwinds create turbulence. So did Dr. Johnson.