Arthur Ashe's triumphs both in and out of tennis have been considerable. The first of his countless championships came in 1960 when Ashe won the USTA National Junior Indoor title. In 1968, while a U.S. Army officer stationed at West Point, he won the inaugural U.S. Open as an amateur, was ranked number one in the world and helped the U.S. team defeat Australia for its first Davis Cup. Ashe had many other victories over the next ten years.

In 1979, Ashe suffered a heart attack and underwent a quadruple bypass surgery. He officially announced his retirement in April, 1980. Off the court, Ashe is very involved with the community. He was instrumental in founding the Association of Tennis Professionals and the National Junior Tennis League, a program designed to involve inner-city youth in tennis. He has devoted a great deal of time to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the American Heart Association and the United Negro College Fund.

Ashe has recently been active as a tennis director, tennis commentator, author, husband and father. Arthur is HIV-positive due to the AIDS virus.

NOTE: Bio is as it appeared in the Forum playbill for "Straight Talk and Honest Answers About AIDS" on February 6, 1993.