“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe
“If you’re paid before you walk on the court, what’s the point in playing as if your life depended on it?” – Arthur Ashe
“I guess I started too early because I just thought it was something fun to do.” – Arthur Ashe
“From what we get, we can make a living. What we give; however, makes a life.” – Arthur Ashe
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” – Arthur Ashe
“When bright young minds can’t afford college, America pays the price.” – Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe quotes about sports and success
“If I were to say, “God, why me?” about the bad things, then I should have said, “God, why me?” about the good things that happened in my life.” – Arthur Ashe
“My potential is more than can be expressed within the bounds of my race or ethnic identity.” – Arthur Ashe
“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” – Arthur Ashe
“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.” – Arthur Ashe
“Drummed into me, above all, by my dad, by the whole family, was that without your good name, you would be nothing.” – Arthur Ashe
“Clothes and manners do not make the man, but where he is made they greatly improve his appearance.” – Arthur Ashe
“I wish more of us could understand that our increasing isolation, no matter how much it seems to express pride and self-affirmation, is not the answer to our problems.” – Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe quotes about friendship and life
“We must reach out our hand in friendship both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy. We must believe in the power of education.” – Arthur Ashe
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our selection of friendship quotes celebrating life-long relationships.
“I may not be walking with you all the way, or even much of the way, as I walk with you now. Don’t be angry with me if I am not there in person, alive and well, when you need me. I would like nothing more than to be with you always.” – Arthur Ashe
“Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory.” – Arthur Ashe
“You’ve got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.” – Arthur Ashe
“The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.” – Arthur Ashe
“You learn about equality in history and civics, but you find out life is not really like that.” – Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe quotes about mindset and tennis
“There is a syndrome in sports called ”paralysis by analysis.” – Arthur Ashe
“A wise person decides slowly but abides by these decisions.” – Arthur Ashe
“I accepted the fact that as much as I want to lead others, and love to be around other people, in some essential way, I am something of a loner.” – Arthur Ashe
“I don’t care who you are, you’re going to choke in certain matches. You get to a point where your legs don’t move and you can’t take a deep breath. You start to hit the ball about a yard wide, instead of inches.” – Arthur Ashe
“I don’t want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.” – Arthur Ashe
“I have tried to keep on with my striving because this is the only hope I have of ever achieving anything worthwhile and lasting.” – Arthur Ashe
“You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.” – Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe quotes about change and life
“Most people resist change, even when it premises to be for the better. But change will come and if you acknowledge this simple but undisputable fact of life and understand that you must adjust to all change, then you will have a head start.” – Arthur Ashe
“I have always drawn strength from being close to home.” – Arthur Ashe
“Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can.” – Arthur Ashe
To this Arthur Ashe replied: The world over–50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach the Wimbledon, 4 to semi finals, 2 to finals. When I was the one holding the cup, I never asked god “Why me?”. And today in pain, I should not be asking GOD “why me?”. – Arthur Ashe
“Every time you win, it diminishes the fear a little bit. You never really cancel the fear of losing; you keep challenging it.” – Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe quotes about leadership
“We blacks look for leadership in men and women of such youth and inexperience, as well as poverty of education and character, that it is no wonder that we sometimes seem rudderless. . . . We see basketball players and pop singers as possible role models.” – Arthur Ashe
“Someone once told me that God figured that I was a pretty good juggler. I could keep a lot of balls in the air at one time. So He said, “Let’s see if he can juggle another one.” – Arthur Ashe
“Seven out of 10 black faces you see on television are athletes. The black athlete carries the image of the black community. He carries the cross, in a way, until blacks make inroads in other dimensions.” – Arthur Ashe
“I strongly believe the black culture spends too much time, energy and effort raising, praising, and teasing our black children about the dubious glories of professional sports.” – Arthur Ashe
“Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.” – Arthur Ashe
“When we were together, I loved you deeply and you gave me so much happiness I can never repay you.” – Arthur Ashe
“In general, very few people are prepared for any kind of disaster including disability which doesn’t require a hurricane.” – Arthur Ashe
“There is a terrific apprehension among some people that blacks will take over the sport… It will create problems because their behavior, speech and dress is just a completely different culture.” – Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe quotes about mindset and success
“I take the good with the bad, and I try to face them both with as much calm and dignity as I can muster.” – Arthur Ashe
“I’m learning to use others’ weaknesses. I don’t hammer a man’s soft spot constantly, because he may strengthen it. I just save it as a trump up my sleeve for moments when I really need a point.” – Arthur Ashe
“A couple of times a day I sit quietly and visualize my body fighting the AIDS virus. It’s the same as me sitting and seeing myself hit the perfect serve. I did that often when I was an athlete.” – Arthur Ashe
“Always have the situation under control, even if losing. Never betray an inward sense of defeat.” – Arthur Ashe
“I have always tried to be true to myself, to pick those battles I felt were important. My ultimate responsibility is to myself. I could never be anything else.” – Arthur Ashe
“Fear isn’t an excuse to come to a standstill. It’s the impetus to step up and strike.” – Arthur Ashe
“It doesn’t have to glitter to be gold.” – Arthur Ashe
“The best way to judge a life is to ask yourself, “Did I make the best use of the time I had?” – Arthur Ashe
“I have become convinced that we blacks spend too much time on the playing field and too little time in libraries.” – Arthur Ashe
“Having grown up in a segregated environment in the south I know what it’s like to be stepped on, I know what it’s like also to see some black hero do well in the face of adversity.” – Arthur Ashe