American Tennis Association Expands Black Tennis Nationally

Founded in 1916, the American Tennis Association expanded rapidly in the early 1920s. The first women's national champion was Lucy Diggs Slowe in 1917—the first Black female national champion in any sport. Through the 1920s, Isadore Channels and Ora Washington dominated ATA tournaments; Washington would win eight national titles. The ATA provided a competitive framework for Black athletes excluded from the white tennis establishment.