Zina Garrison - standard bearer for black American tennis players

Zina Garrison is a legend. Long before the Williams sisters came on the scene, Zina was the queen of black American tennis. Her all court game made her a smash with tennis fans worldwide.

Garrison was a firm fixture in the women's elite top 20 for most of her career which spanned an incredible 15 years from 1982 until 1997. She was an inspiration to her fellow athletes as she battled bulimia throughout her career but was still successful, winning 14 singles titles, 20 doubles titles and three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Her longevity in the women's game made her a regular Federation Cup player for her country, the USA, playing alongside the likes of Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Pam Shriver.

The most notable success in her career was an unlikely final appearance at Wimbledon in 1990. She crushed Helena Sukova 6-3 6-3 in the fourth round and then went on to play two of the most amazing matches of her career.

In the quarter-finals she came from a set down to defeat Monica Seles after a titanic struggle 3-6 6-3 9-7 and then in the semi-finals she produced an even bigger upset by defeating defending champion and Wimbledon darling Steffi Graf 6-3 3-6 6-4. Garrison's articulate volleying and superb passing shots made her difficult to beat on the grass courts.