Wall Street Journalさんのインスタグラム写真 - (Wall Street JournalInstagram)「Sixty years ago, Robert Ryland became the first black man to play professional tennis.⠀ ⠀ He got his first racket at 8 years old, was a national champion at 35 and didn't quit playing competitively until he was 85. Now, at 99, he volunteers to help guide children in a summer program at the same New York City playground where he trained a young Arthur Ashe. ⠀ ⠀ But his path wasn't easy. Ryland was barred from competing in a whites-only pro league until he was nearly 40, becoming the first black man to do so in 1959. Past his prime, and less experienced than his white competitors, he didn't last long as a pro.⠀ ⠀ Spending part of his youth in Mobile, Ala., during the Jim Crow era, he says his relationship with tennis was informed by his experience with racism. He recalls seeing people hung on trees on his way to the "Negro" park in his neighborhood where he would go to play tennis.⠀ ⠀ "Every day, I'd be scared to death," he said.⠀ ⠀ Read more at the link in our bio.⠀ ⠀ 📷: @dontgabalot for @wsjphotos」8月27日 8時43分