Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. stood high as the first Black tennis player selected to the United States Davis Cup team, and the only Black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.   

Ashe, who died in 1993, still stands tall as the No. 1 figure in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia.   

The removal of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond on Wednesday made way for the Arthur Ashe monument to stand as the lone statue on Monument Avenue.  

Related: Virginia’s Lee Statue Has Been Removed From the US Capitol  

Ashe, who championed for civil rights, was precluded from competing against white youths in segregated Richmond during the school year.  

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic,” said Ashe in one of his famous quotes. “It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”  

The Virginia Supreme Court previously ruled to remove the statue of Gen. Lee, which stood in front of the state’s capital.    

The justices stated they “value change and public policy changes too” in their 7-0 decision. The Gen. Lee statue became a symbol of racial injustice. Testimony from historians during the ruling said the figure stood for the white citizenry’s defense of a pre-Civil War life that depended on slavery and the oppression of Black people.    

“The public monuments reflect the story we choose to tell about who we are as a people,” said Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. “It is time to display history as history, and use the public memorials to honor the full and inclusive truth of who we are today and in the future.”  

Related: Virginia Supreme Court Rules in Favor of General Lee Statue Removal