Playing the Greats: Arthur Ashe

Physical talent, logic, and willpower made Ashe a champion.

There is little doubt that Arthur Ashe was a fantastic physical talent but it was his strength of character and his ability to
overcome emotional difficulties with logic and sheer willpower that made him a champion.

I first met Arthur Ashe at UCLA where I was a graduate student and he was an in incoming freshman. He was a highly ranked junior
but not the best junior in the country, that honor falling to Charlie Pasarell, his freshman teammate.

Arthur was friendly off court, he appeared relaxed, smiled and laughed a lot, and was amiable and chatty. But on court, he was
cool, reserved, aloof, almost casual, and displayed a well-controlled temper. Unusual as it may be, I can not recall Arthur EVER
getting angry on a tennis court, either in matches or in practice.

I can not claim that I had the same level of control even though I was four years Arthur’s senior. Charlie Pasarell and I were
screaming and yelling so much in our practice matches our coach threatened to ban us from ever practicing together again.

In his early years, Arthur had a tendency to become…