Arthur Ashe was only 49 years old when he passed away in 1993, but the tennis superstar accomplished so much in his life—from becoming the face of tennis to the face of activism. Ashe was also the first and only African American male to win both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open singles titles.

RICHMOND, Va. – On Richmond's Monument Avenue, the collection of towering statues honoring Confederate veterans was interrupted by one noticeably different: a monument to Black tennis legend and civil rights activist Arthur Ashe. Arthur Ashe monument vandalized in Richmond, Virginia, on June 17, 2020 (NBC12)But after someone painted "White Lives Matter" on Ashe's statue, city officials considered a request from Ashe's family to temporarily remove the statue to protect it. On July 1, Stoney ordered the immediate removal of all city-owned Confederate statues in Richmond, a onetime capital of the Confederacy. The only Confederate statue that remains on Monument Avenue is a memorial to Gen. Robert E. Lee located on state property. Harris said he believes his uncle's statue "stands for everything the people are working for right now."

LYNCHBURG, Va. – “White Lives Matter” being spray painted on the Arthur Ashe statue in Richmond is not sitting well with those who knew the tennis legend. Johnson served as Ashe’s tennis coach. Johnson’s grandson, Lange Johnson, watched tennis greats Ashe and Athea Gibson play on the Pierce Street court. He said vandalizing Ashe’s statue was the wrong thing to do. “Arthur Ashe’s statue will be cleaned up and it will be reset and off we go, but it’s just going forward how do we overcome these challenges?

RICHMOND, Va. – A statue of African American tennis legend Arthur Ashe on Richmond, Virginia’s, Monument Avenue has been vandalized with the words “White Lives Matter.”Photos show the monument base tagged with white spray paint and the words “white lives matter” as well as the initials “WLM.”Those initials were then later painted over with “BLM.”Richmond Police said they were alerted to the vandalism Wednesday morning. Police said they have information on possible suspects. The Arthur Ashe monument was dedicated in 1996 to memorialize the Richmond native and counterbalance the string of statues on Memorial Avenue dedicated to Confederate leaders.

Althea Gibson is honored with a statue outside Arthur Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the US Tennis Association Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. FLUSHING, N.Y. - Long before Serena Williams became America's great tennis star, and even before Arthur Ashe made history, there was Althea Gibson. Tennis' Open Era had yet to begin -- meaning women weren't being paid for playing tennis -- and almost all the country was segregated. The U.S. Open unveiled a sculpture of Gibson on Monday, the first day of the 2019 tournament. Including her doubles titles, Gibson won 11 grand slams, more than Arthur Ashe, who has a whole stadium named after him.

Kyle Bugha Giersdorf celebrates after winning the Fortnite World Cup solo final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on July 28, 2019 in New York City. Fortnite has wrapped its first-ever massive sporting event in New York's Arthur Ashe tennis stadium. In second place, 24-year-old Harrison "Psalm" Chang a former professional Heroes of the Storm player won $1.8 million. In fourth, Nate "Kreo" Kou, 18, from Parkland, Florida, won $1.05 million. More than a million viewers tuned in to watch online, according to Twitch, YouTube and Fortnite in-game stats.