Rex Miller and Sam Pollard’s documentary brings us the life story of the legendary American tennis player Arthur Ashe, the first successful African-American to play the sport. And “Citizen Ashe” is a routine biographical documentary composed of archival recordings, interviews with witnesses of the time and the narration of the protagonist himself. It is a typical television documentary in which we follow the life story of this successful tennis player from beginning to end, but we also follow the beginning of the tennis Open era, that is, the time when tennis became a professional sport.
However, as the name of the film suggests, it is also a film about the fight for civil and human rights, since Ashe appeared exactly during the sixties when that fight was heating up. Unlike, say, Mohammad Ali, who was loud and clear in his support of the efforts of black leaders, Ashe was initially one of those who didn’t really want to get involved much. We understand why and follow his humble beginnings in the American South, breaking through in a sport where in his time there were no blacks, especially not as successful as he was. However, over time, Ashe also found his place in that fight, and all that time he was extremely successful on the tennis courts, winning a total of three Grand Slams.
“Citizen Ashe” could be included in the circle of those inspiring, but also tragic stories, since Ashe had to stop his career due to health problems, and in the early eighties, during a blood transfusion, he was also infected with AIDS. Then he became particularly engaged in the fight against the stigmatization of people infected with this vicious disease, and in this hour and a half we watch his transformation and maturation from one of those obedient and silent blacks into a loud and clear opponent of racism and social injustice.