Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. was an African-American tennis player who was refused entry into South Africa due to his African background. He applied for a visa numerous times, which was eventually granted in 1973.
The main reason Ashe was refused entry into the 'apartheid' stricken nation was his identity as a black man from America. Even though he was a part of the national team, a delegate of the United States Davis Cup team, the current racial segregation policy of Apartheid of the South African government obstructed him from being admitted into the nation despite his American citizenship. despite many appeals even by the sports fraternity and himself, he was constantly denied entry. Eventually, he was granted the visa in 1973, where he became the first black athlete to win in that nation.
