Zina Garrison: The Trailblazer Before Serena & Venus | Untold Tennis Story

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Before Serena and Venus Williams, there was Zena Garrison. The Houston, Texas born athlete finished her career with 14 singles, 20 doubles, three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, and a golden bronze Olympic medal. At the age of 10, she picked a racket, and at 14, Zena had already won the National Girls 18's title by competing against players four years older than her. In 1981, at just 17 years old, she won both the Wimbledon and US Open Junior titles in the same year, making her the world's number one junior player. Then she arrived on the professional tour the following year. In her first full year as a professional in 1983, Zena reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and ended the year ranked number 10 in the world. But statistics only tell part of the story.

[00:00:54]Zena had so much pressure on her shoulders to become the next successful black female tennis player after Althia Gibson. And if that wasn't enough, at the age of 19, Zena's mom passed away.

[00:01:06]She was so devastated that she suffered from an eating disorder, bulimia. But Zena Garrison didn't give up and kept showing up anyway. In the 1990 Wimbledon, Zena was so close to winning a Grand Slam as she defeated two of the best players in the world in two weeks.

[00:01:24]At the quarterfinals, she defeated French Open champion Monica Celis. Then in the semi-final, it was one of her biggest matchups against world number one Stephie Graph. In five out of their six previous meetings, Stephie Graph had won and she was the favorite to do so again. But Zena pulled an upset and defeated the Germans 6336 64 to end her 13 consecutive Grand Slam finals. Although Zena Garrison didn't win the final, she became the first African-Amean woman to reach a Wimbledon singles final since Althia Gibson 32 years earlier. But the number that matters most isn't on any trophy. In 1992, Zena launched the Zena Garrison Allc Courtourt Tennis Program. This was a free year round tennis and education program for inner city children in Houston. It operated from the same public parks where she first learned to play. The girl who got her start for free went back and made sure thousands of other children could do the same. How influential do you think Zena Garrison was to women's tennis? Do share your opinion in the comment section and don't forget to like and subscribe for the best women's sports stories.