Q&A with Lori Dubbin

 

 

Lori Dubbin is the author of the new children's picture book Perfect Match: The Story of Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton. She lives in Miami.

 

Q: What inspired you to write Perfect Match? How did you learn about the story of Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton?

 

A: My son had received a nonfiction book, Great Jews in Sports by Robert Slater, as a gift for his bar mitzvah. I started leafing through it one day in 2015 (he had received it in 1995) and landed on a page about Angela Buxton.

 

There was a picture of Angela in her tennis outfit and the text mentioned her doubles partner had been Althea Gibson, whose name was familiar to me. But I didn’t know their story and I wanted to find out more about how they met, became doubles partners, and ultimately champions (which the blurb in the book briefly describes).

 

Something else may have subconsciously contributed to my interest in the story. I am Jewish and I had an unexpected experience in junior high in the late 1960s – students, who I thought were my friends, wrote antisemitic remarks in my textbooks. 

 

It was hurtful. I was surprised by the incident. My parents came to school and the students ultimately apologized. It stung a lot, but I accepted their apologies and moved on. I transferred to another school the following year.

 

The more I learned about the intolerance Althea and Angela faced and how they both continued to play the game they loved despite the discrimination of the time (the 1950s), the more determined I became to put the story in the hands of young readers who might be facing similar challenges today.

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between the two?

 

A: Angela and Althea had a tight bond from the beginning. They had a lot in common, from their love of tennis to their love of films.

 

When they first became doubles partners, however, they got in each other’s way. Althea was used to having her side of the court to herself and Angela would waver about which shot to take.

 

They realized they each needed to stick to their strengths – Althea at the net and Angela in the back court – and they became a great team. Moreover, after being treated as outsiders, they each finally found an ally, someone they could trust on and off the court.

 

After Angela retired from tennis because of a wrist injury, Althea always stayed at Angela’s London home when she came for tournaments. They became lifelong friends and called each other when they needed help, comfort, or guidance, especially Althea when she was very ill later in the 1990s. Angela raised money from the tennis community for Althea’s medical expenses.

 

Unfortunately, Althea and Angela didn’t earn big purses in the 1950s like players do today, and Althea desperately needed Angela’s help to live comfortably and afford medical care.

 

When Althea died in 2003, Angela committed herself to honoring and publicizing Althea’s achievements. She successfully fought for the creation of a monument honoring Althea, which was unveiled at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2019.

Angela was there for the event and gave a speech about her friend. It was Angela’s last public appearance. She passed away in 2020, just before her 86th birthday.

 

One other incident, which wasn’t able to go in the book, shows the strength of Althea and Angela’s friendship. In 1956, they competed against each other in the women’s singles semifinal at the French Championships (now called the French Open) – the same tournament where they first won women’s doubles.

 

At the end of the second set, they were tied. Suddenly, in the middle of a swing, Althea’s undergarment shoulder strap snapped. Angela saw what happened and ran from her side of the court to Althea’s. She walked Althea from the jeering crowd to the locker room to change.

 

The authorities wanted to disqualify Althea for stepping off the court. They wanted Angela to play in the final, even though she had left the court too. Angela refused. She would play against Althea or she wouldn’t play at all.

 

Angela and Althea were finally allowed to finish their match. Althea beat Angela and became the first African-American to advance to the French final. Angela was thrilled for her friend. Althea then went on to win in the final, becoming the first African-American to win a Grand Slam Championship. Angela beamed from the stands.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: I feel so fortunate I was able to interview Angela in 2015. She lived half the year in Pompano Beach, Florida, about an hour away from me, and we met for dinner. She was lovely and quite tickled that I wanted to write about her friendship and doubles partnership with Althea.

 

In addition, I read articles online and watched documentaries about Althea, in which Angela was also interviewed. I also read and stuck post-it notes all over The Match: Althea Gibson and Angela Buxton by sportswriter Bruce Schoenfeld.

 

While doing research, it surprised me to learn that Althea considered joining the Army after the Asian Goodwill Tour (where she met Angela) for economic reasons. Angela, however, encouraged Althea to keep entering international tournaments, so she could improve her game and wouldn’t have to stay at separate hotels from her teammates, like she did in the United States.

 

Althea followed Angela’s advice and won 16 of the 18 tournaments she entered in Europe and Asia, showing she could compete with the best, all thanks to Angela’s encouragement. And it was the following year, in 1957, that Althea became the women’s singles champion at Wimbledon! She also won the championship there in 1958.

 

Here's a disappointing surprise I learned in regard to Angela – even though she won the 1956 Wimbledon women’s doubles tournament at Wimbledon, she never received an acceptance of membership at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club, the host club at Wimbledon. She applied but never heard back from them.

 

Q: What do you think Amanda Quartey’s illustrations add to the book?

 

A: I love Amanda’s illustrations and how beautifully she’s drawn Althea and Angela in action on the tennis court. I’m also partial to how she captured their hug when they met for the second time at the French Championships in Paris in 1956. The color combinations Amanda uses add warmth to the spreads depicting their budding friendship.

 

I also got excited about how Amanda made a distinction between the orange clay French courts and the two-toned green grass Wimbledon courts. And all I’ll say is – take a look at the endpapers!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I have two nonfiction picture book manuscripts out on submission right now. I’m also enjoying working on a manuscript which is a reinterpretation of an old Yiddish folktale.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I wish Angela was alive to see and read Perfect Match since she was so excited about it. She might have even come to readings with me to explain the significance of eating strawberries and cream at Wimbledon.

 

Thank you for having me, Deborah. It was a pleasure to be on your blog!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb