70 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 1, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Statue of Althea Gibson to be built at Flushing U.S. Open grounds
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Another tennis legend will soon be
immortalized near Arthur Ashe Stadium
at the Billie Jean King National Tennis
Stadium within Flushing Meadows–
Corona Park.
A statue of Althea Gibson will be erected
Christ the King basketball coach named CHSAA Coach of the Year
Christ the King High School basketball
coach Joseph Arbitello was recently
named the Catholic High School
Athletic Association’s (CHSAA) Coach
of the Year. Arbitello has been the varsity
basketball coach at Christ the King
for the past 10 years. During that time,
he has led his team to six Brooklyn/
Queens Championships, five City
Championships, five NY Catholic
State Championships and three NYS
Federation Championships.
Serphin R. Maltese, Chairman of the
Board of Trustees said, “We congratulate
Coach Arbitello on being named the
Catholic High School Athletic Association’s
Coach of the Year. His hard work and
steadfast dedication to the school and our
basketball team has been a beacon of excellence
which we can all draw pride from.”
on the grounds of the U.S. Open,
the United States Tennis Association
announced on Tuesday. Th e announcement
comes at the end of Black History
Month, dedicated to recognizing African-
Americans’ contributions to American
history.
Th e association will begin a request for
proposals (RFP) process in the search for
an artist and sculptor to take on the project.
Th ere is currently no set completion
date.
Gibson is a two-time U.S. National
Singles Champion and 11-time Grand
Slam winner. She became the fi rst African-
American to win the U.S. Nationals, the
precursor to the U.S. Open, when she
won the women’s singles championship
in 1957, and repeated the win in 1958.
Gibson was inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame in
1971.
“It’s simple. She’s the Jackie Robinson
of tennis. She deserves it,” said USTA
Chairman of the Board and President
Katrina Adams. “By breaking the color
barrier, she made it possible for every
person of color aft er her to have a
chance to achieve their goals in the
sport.”
Gibson joins Arthur Ashe and Billie
Jean King as tennis champions commemorated
at the Flushing USTA campus.
King, who is the namesake of the campus’s
USTA Billie Jean King National
Tennis Center, called Gibson “an
American treasure and one of her most
important heroes.”
“Th rough tennis she opened the doors
for future generations – men and women
of all backgrounds – to have a chance to
compete and make a living playing professional
tennis,” she said. “Our sport
owes a great deal to Althea and it is
my hope that the children of today and
tomorrow will learn more about her and
be inspired by her.”
A statue of Ashe was unveiled on the
grounds in August 2000. Th e Gibson statue
will be the second commemorating a
tennis icon.
Public domain photo, World Telegram & Sun by Fred
Palumbo
Althea Gibson
sports