Overview

• ESPN will air a tribute video to Althea Gibson before tonight’s opening matches.
• The tournament is distributing 40,000 Marvel comic books featuring Gibson alongside the Fantastic Four.
• All attendees receive commemorative Gibson pins on August 25, and Florida A&M University’s marching band will open the night session on August 26.
• This year’s marketing features artwork inspired by Gibson’s silhouette from Melissa Koby, the U.S. Open’s first Black theme artist.
• Coverage situates the honors in her legacy as the first Black competitor at the U.S. Nationals in 1950, noting Alice Marble’s public push for her inclusion and a contemporaneous USLTA attempt to bar her via a membership loophole.