Starting today, tickets for all sessions of the 2025 US Open will be available to the general public. To mark the 75th anniversary of Althea Gibson breaking tennis’s color barrier at the 1950 U.S. National Championships, the USTA has unveiled the official theme for the tournament: “Celebrating 75 Years of Breaking Barriers.”
The powerful tribute will resonate throughout the three-week event, which runs from August 18 to September 7, with a major highlight scheduled for Sunday, August 24, when Arthur Ashe Stadium hosts a special tribute to Gibson as the main draws begin for both women and men.
The centerpiece of this celebration is a striking new piece of theme art created by Tampa-based artist Melissa Koby, who is making history herself as the first Black artist ever commissioned for the US Open’s theme art. Her work features a layered silhouette of Althea Gibson, built from stencil and laser-cut paper elements that incorporate US Open symbols and evoke emotion through texture and depth.
Koby described the piece as a tribute not just to Gibson’s tennis legacy, but to her powerful presence and the generations of changemakers she inspired.
“I wanted to create a piece that…
