Arthur Ashe Quotes (41 Quotes)


    If you're paid before you walk on the court, what's the point in playing as if your life depended on it?

    Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome. Not everyone can be Number One.

    When bright young minds can't afford college, America pays the price.

    My potential is more than can be expressed within the bounds of my race or ethnic identity.

    I strongly believe the black culture spends too much time, energy and effort raising, praising, and teasing our black children about the dubious glories of professional sports.


    I'm very happy for him. . . . He was heartbroken here once, ... But that's all over now. I told him he had to face these things in life . . . to make a man of himself.

    True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.

    What it is controlled cool, in a way. Always have the situation under control, even if losing. Never betray an inward sense of defeat.

    If I were to say, "God, why me?" about the bad things, then I should have said, "God, why me?" about the good things that happened in my life.

    Someone once told me that God figured that I was a pretty good juggler. I could keep a lot of balls in the air at one time. So He said, 'Let's see if he can juggle another one.'

    You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.

    One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.

    I don't want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.

    When we were together, I loved you deeply and you gave me so much happiness I can never repay you.

    The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.

    I guess I started too early because I just thought it was something fun to do.

    We must reach out our hand in friendship and dignity both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.

    There is a syndrome in sports called "paralysis by analysis."

    Every time you win, it diminishes the fear a little bit. You never really cancel the fear of losing you keep challenging it.

    From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.

    I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full.

    I have tried to keep on with my striving because this is the only hope I have of ever achieving anything worthwhile and lasting.

    We must believe in the power of education. We must respect just laws. We must love ourselves, our old and or young, our women as well as our men.

    Later, I discovered there was a lot of work to being good in tennis.

    Clothes and manners do not make the man; but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.

    We blacks look for leadership in men and women of such youth and inexperience, as well as poverty of education and character, that it is no wonder that we sometimes seem rudderless.... We see basketball players and pop singers as possible role models.

    I have always drawn strength from being close to home.

    A wise person decides slowly but abides by these decisions.

    Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

    Arthur Ashe Jr. is a true Virginia hero, and he belongs here,

    Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.

    Let me put it this way: I think Republicans tend to keep the ball in play, Democrats go for broke.

    You learn about equality in history and civics, but you find out life is not really like that.

    Seven out of 10 black faces you see on television are athletes. The black athlete carries the image of the black community. He carries the cross, in a way, until blacks make inroads in other dimensions.


    Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can.

    I accepted the face that as much as I want to lead others, and love to be around other people, in some essential way, I am something of a loner.

    I'm waiting for the alarm clock to go off and I'm going to wake up, ... I can't believe how well things are going. This is a dream come true.

    I may not be walking with you all the way, or even much of the way, as I walk with you now.

    Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.

    I don't care who you are, you're going to choke in certain matches. You get to a point where your legs don't move and you can't take a deep breath. You start to hit the ball about a yard wide, instead of inches.


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