Quotes from Arthur Ashe

I may not be walking with you all the way, or even much of the way, as I walk with you now.

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.

Start where you are, use what you have.

My humanity, in common with all of God's children, gives the greatest flight to my full range of my possibilities.

Fear isn't an excuse to come to a standstill. It's the impetus to step up and strike.

You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.

From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.

Life is like a tennis game. You can't win without serving.

The best way to judge a life is to ask yourself, "Did I make the best use of the time I had?

Wherever I am when you feel sick at heart and weary of life, or when you stumble and fall and don't know if you can get up again, think of me. I will be watching and smiling and cheering you on.

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.

Let me put it this way: I think Republicans tend to keep the ball in play, Democrats go for broke.

There is a syndrome in sports called 'paralysis by analysis.'

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.

When bright young minds can't afford college, America pays the price.

I don't want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.

If you're paid before you walk on the court, what's the point in playing as if your life depended on it?

I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full.

Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.

You come to realize that life is short, and you have to step up. Don't feel sorry for me. Much is expected of those who are strong.

With what we give, we make a life.

Always have the situation under control, even if losing. Never betray an inward sense of defeat.

I would like to flood South Africa with black personages of all sorts of persuasions: writers, educators, businessmen, you name it. If you are black and have any clout at all, I would like to see you go to South Africa and look for yourself and come back and try to use the tools that you have at your command to try and help the brothers down there.

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. Rather, the answer is a revival of our ancient commitment to God, who rules over all the peoples of the world and exalts no one over any other, and to the moral and spiritual values which were once legendary in America. We must reach out our hand in friendship both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.