The Breakfast Club - A day at the US Open! 75 years since the 1st black tennis player in a major match, Althea Gibson.

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

Loren takes your first hand into the US Open 2025! Following her attendance at the renown event in honor of HBCU’s (historically black colleges and universities) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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and everybody. You know if you don't lie about that, right? Lauren came in hot. Hey, y'all, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa. This is the latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on all things pop culture. entertainment news and all of the exclusives that shake the room speaking of rooms today i had the amazing opportunity to attend the u.s open here in new york um it was in queens and oh my god what a day

what a day what a day what a day uh so first of all i just want to say i talk about it a lot here and everywhere i go being a part of the hbc u alumni conversation has not only been like an eye opener to me, but it's been, it's really been like a life experience and like a game changer for me. So today I was able to go to the U.S. Open in celebration of all things, HBCU, historically black college and university, but also in spirit and honor of Althea Gibson, Ms. Althea Gibson. So Monday would have been her 98th birthday. But this week, this year, I actually celebrate 75 years since Althea Gibson made her debut in what would have been now the U.S. Open. but it was called something different back then, but 75 years ago, she became the first black

tennis player to play in a major tennis competition. Now, since then, of course, the sport has grown, but if you think about, you know, what you think about when it comes to tennis and black tennis, I think for all of us, the first thing we think of Venus and Serena Williams, 100%. Their story, their trials, their tribulations, their critiques, the hatred they got, the ups that we've seen them, celebrate, the barriers they've broken, all of the things. but Althea Gibson was, you know, she is the originator of black woman on a tennis court showing y'all how to get it done.

Now, here's the thing. So there's been a lot of coverage of the fact that the U.S. Open would be even paying tribute to her because a lot of people feel like this was well, well, well, well overdue. A lot of people even in the headlines and in the reporting of this celebration or celebratory year for the U.S. Open and honoring Ms. Althea Gibson are reporting this as they finally broken their silence or they finally given just due to a woman who literally broke down doors or broke racks, tennis racks, that is, for all of the black tennis players to come behind her. Tennis players of color, to be honest with you, but of course, black tennis players to come

behind her. Now, a lot of people will say the sport of tennis, and I mean, a lot of people tone deaf enough to say this will say that, you know, tennis is still a sport that is very much white. And when I say that, I don't mean like it's only for white. people. I mean, the conversations and, you know, a lot of the major tennis players over the years it's been, it's almost like a, I wouldn't even say it's a unicorn anymore, but you can right now in your mind think about the major black tennis players, both men and women, and probably name them because we hear about the same ones all the time. That does not mean that they're not

more, you know, young, rising fire black tennis players all across the nation, all across the world, right? But what I'm saying is, when you think of mainstream tennis tournament, people playing in those tournaments, competing at, you know, these high levels, being talked about by press when it comes to the competitions and things of that nature, you can literally probably name the majors. It was such a big deal this year that Venus Williams actually returned to the U.S. Open. She actually made history this year, returning to the U.S. Open as the oldest singles player in the tournament since a 47-year-old Renee Richards competed back in 1981. Venus Williams is 45 years old But I mean, no matter her age Like, you know, Venus gets out there

She's going to, she got busy She didn't advance But she did play at the top of the week The reason why I bring up Venus Williams Serena Naomi Osaka Cocoa golf or because again And I'm only bringing up the women Because y'all know I am so like

Brown Girl grinding But there's, you know, there are men as well That have been out here representing That are also, you know, very prevalent and present In the U.S. open this year But bringing them up is to make the point that when we talk about major tournaments in tennis, there's always just a handful of us. So this year, attending the U.S. Open was such an eye-opening experience for me because

there was a whole room full of people who looked like me, very successful in their careers, professionals across all genres from entertainment, both on camera, behind the camera, to business, politics, sports, all of the things. And we were all brought together to attend this experience. Some of the people that I, you know, got to meet today, got to see you. today um monica mcnutt i didn't get to meet her or it was brief uh i just need to sit a bag down at the table she was at um but monica mcnutt she also hosted a panel that was hbc u based um and they you know they had a conversation prior to a lot of the matches beginning ivan origi um molly from

insecure was also there as well too i didn't get a chance to see venus on uh the court at all but this year in one of her opening matches she did pay tribute to miss outia gipson she wore white polo collared style shirt with the white tennis skirt which is there's so many iconic photos of Althea Gibson in this outfit so it was a nod to her very timely very on brand very you know it made sense for what

this year is but also those photos were all around the venue today like everywhere you turned you could not escape Seamus Althea Gibson it was so black and so brilliant today at the U.S. Open Lord I am just I'm so happy to be gang I am just so happy to be gang

shout out to Melissa Butler from the lip bar We had talked to her on Breakfast Club And then, you know, so I met her there But ran into her today She was also part of the HBCU Live initiative That it was, you know, the They were kind of like our chaperones today They welcomed us into the U.S. Open

And made sure we had a good time But it was just fired I didn't even know that the U.S. Open had A HBCU initiative at all, number one And number two, to be there this year celebrating and honoring 75 years since Althea Gibson walked onto the you know court in the majors uh with all these people who look like me that are celebrating breaking barriers and the careers that they are in man it was just fire like it was it was amazing so

upon entry coming in um to the u.s open everywhere you turned uh there was artwork um you had a lot of it was like silhouette is and i didn't know it was like very silhouette it was very silhouette it was very like there were carve-outs there was a statue of miss outia gibson um everywhere you turn there were like different quotes because the actual theme itself was celebrating 75 years of breaking barriers so there were a lot of quotes circulating even like the author ash tennis area that we were in where a lot of the main matches went down that saying was everywhere it was you know on all of the boards the jumbotrons her silhouette was there as well too there were photos along the walls there was like a comic book at one point that was being giving out that was merch as well but i didn't know

you can see the the pictures of miss gibson and of course you know it's her but when you're seeing when you first walk in and you're seeing all these silhouettes and you know all the things i didn't really know what i was looking at and then i did some digging the artist who actually uh made all of the artwork for this year her name is melissa kobe so melissa kobe she is the first black theme artist in the history of the u.s open look When I talked, walking into the U.S. Open today, the first area that I went to was like a area where you could like eat and there were bars and everybody was like, you know, talking and fellowshiping and vibing and taking pictures. And I walked, I was there by myself. So I literally sat at a table with a bunch of people I did not know.

But it felt like home. It felt like homecoming. It was out. My mind was blown. The last time I attended the U.S. Open, I think I was about 10 or 11 years old. I went with one of my tennis camps. I played tennis for a couple years and went with a tennis camp. And I forget which sister it was, but one of the Williams sisters were actually playing.

That's why they took us. They wanted us to see her on the tennis court. We were a tennis camp of a bunch of young kids from the inner city, all black, of course. And I remember what it felt like to see her on the court and see all of the people cheering and all of the, ooh, ah, like all of that, all the things, right? So to be back now, 33 years old, walking into this, you know, arena with all of these other HBCU and black, because not even people that just went to HBCUs, but just black people in general, it was just, it was, it was, it was, I can't, I don't even know if I'm describing it to you guys well enough, but it was such an experience.

Now, one of the things that I thought was fire today that was also laid out was there were these comic books. So there was comic books that were actually made by Marvel in celebration. of Althea Gibson, which were also things that you could purchase and, you know, they were been giving, giving away at some different locations as well, too, today. But I also got to do the coin toss. I got to do the coin toss on the second match. It was Taylor Fritz versus Lloyd Harris. And this was within the Lewis Armstrong Stadium. So it wasn't in the main stadium. It was in like a side stadium. But that was fire as well. And then I went to go watch some of the other matches.

Now, let me tell y'all, amongst my coin tossed peer. was gladys night now we had been covering a story uh or i've been covering a story over on the breakfast club and just following a bit the story of gladys night and her son alleging that she is being taken advantage of mentally and physically uh by you know someone that she is currently in a relationship with and also alleging that she should not be on the road touring let me tell you all something okay i didn't get a chance to have any words with miss gladys night uh because i was watching the match she actually came out and through the coin toss for it but i have video of her so make sure you guys go check the video out i'll be posting it to the brown girl grinding instagram she looked

fine to me uh she was there she did they brought her out she did the coin toss she was very alert very aware she knew what was going on waving to the crowd all of the things like she walked out on her own she did have like handlers with her and stuff like that i mean she is an older woman also she's glad it's night so she did have handlers with her but she walked out on her own it wasn't like she needed to be directed where to go as if she was just completely lost and didn't know direction anymore um she you know was interacting with the tennis players they took a photo because you do a photo after you do your coin toss and on her way out she even stopped to do a little dance like she knew she was so well aware of what was going on and you know the fans in the audience

and stopping and looking around and making sure she got to everybody when it came to waving to the fans because the way that the tennis matches are set up the seating kind of comes down on the incline and then at the bottom of the incline is the tennis court so she's looking up at all the fans and like waving in one area making sure she turns around and waves to another area working the stage she looked fine to me

now granted you know I didn't get a chance to talk to her I'm not spending days with her I'm not you know whatever I'm just telling you guys what I saw with my own eyes she looked good and when I heard them announce her I expected to kind of be like you know maybe like to see her be fully guided out

and not be able to understand what you way she's supposed to turn and all the things because of the reports, because of the recent, you know, documents that are sun filed down in the Carolina stating that, you know, she's just kind of being put in positions right now that aren't fair to an older woman who's, as he alleges, like basically out of it and should be home relaxing. Oh, baby, no, Ms. Gladys Knight was on point. She was not to be played with the day, honey. Looked amazing as well, but she was giving superstar her. Very much so. Now, as we wrap this, I just want to say the whole point is spending the time telling you guys about today was because as of 2023 there has been a 20% rise in black people in the

sport of tennis per NBC news right and what I want us to do is I want us to take more time to like I'm guilty of this as well like I got a chance to go and watch um Cocoa Golf on one of the practice courts and I was probably watching her for about maybe like all of 10 to 15 minutes I just wanted to see her with my own eyes in person because I report on her so much. I report on Naomi Osaka so much. But what I realize is that, you know, every now and then, you know, you report like the big wins that they do, right? So when they're making these history breaking wins and all the things, but I'm like, yo, I'm not even really in tune with their game for real and following their game for real. And I think anytime you see a person that is breaking barriers, whether it's a black

person person of color uh you know woman no matter what her skin color is but a woman uh anybody who is you know at a deficit or perceived because these people are not a deficit baby we are showing up and showing out but we sometimes are perceived that way i'm always rooting for you know people that are that are put in a position where people underestimate what they can do because of whatsoever and a lot of times it's because of race and what all of the microaggressions that come with that especially black women right i mean black men have their thing too but i personally cannot only speak to as a black woman with those are because I've experienced them. But I was sitting there and I'm just thinking like I know so much about their personal lives, all their business,

all their T, but I don't really know much about their game. I don't know much. Like I couldn't run down what Cocoa Golf's technique is where she's strong at on the court and all those things. And I'm like, I don't know if that's really fair, Lauren. Like if you're seeing you out here and you support in and you rep in and it's, you know, U.S. Open HBCU, all things black and, you know, all the things. Imagine if someone only ever talked about Ms. Althea Gibson because of the drama she experienced and not all the great things she did, not all of the, you know, matches she won, not all of the barriers she broke. Where would that leave space for any of these black women or black players that you are here so excited to see and support today? So I'm challenging us to do better. I'm challenging myself to do better.

I even told myself like, you know, next year, you know, when the U.S. Open comes, especially when it comes to supporting all of us. the black athletes and I'm unapologetically always rooting for everybody black I want to spend more time at the U.S. Open actually diving into the matches I was so in and out today because I you know worked this morning but I want to do more do better but I want you guys to take a listen really quick as we wrap to Venus Williams talking about miss Althea Gibson and the impact that she had on her life I had an opportunity to feel proud of who I was who I am because of people like Althea. Of course there's different kinds of ways you're perceived or sometimes treated because of the color of your skin, but it never stopped me. And I also want you guys to take a listen to Cocoa Golf talking

about Althea Gibson and the impact there. First three tennis players I knew for Serena in Venus and Althea Gibson. You know, my dad always looked up to Althea. It was important for him to educate me as a black woman. She had to face like real pressure of just brutal like racism. And I'm very grateful for her after matches i do get some some crazy stuff but um yeah online did venus or serena ever give you advice on how to deal with some of the vitriol um yeah venus always i played doubles with her once and you know she just said be authentically yourself and keeping you representation matters and i know that that sounds so cliche but i literally to this day sometimes randomly Whenever I hear any of the William sisters names, remember being a kid sitting in the stands and watching them play at the U.S. Open and looking around at the crowd and realizing like, I don't know exactly what I want to do.

Maybe tennis is not it, but the way that they are captivating and entertaining and, you know, and being like, you know, they got the braids, like they're black girls doing it. I want to do this. and now years later, I'm here, I'm at the U.S. Open, and, you know, we're celebrating breaking barriers and, you know, all the things. So, cheers to, you know, 75 years since Ms. Althea Gibson, walked on that court in that tennis match and showed the world. It's not about your skin color, but if we're going to talk about it, I'm going to give you guys something to talk about. I'm Lauren La Rosa. This is the latest with Lauren La Rosa. This has been a special episode straight from the U.S. Open and all of the things.

also did an interview with the U.S. Open. We're trying to track that down now. It was live. So it was live the tape. So we're trying to get that. When I get that, I'll make that a bonus episode for you guys. And yeah, I'll be back. Our next episode with all of the news rundown.

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