This article is about tennis player Leslie Allen; for the football player and coach of the same name, see Les Allen . For the Australian soldier, see Leslie "Bull" Allen .
She joined the WTA Tour in 1977 and reached 17th place on February 15, 1981, her highest ranking in the world rankings. In 1981, after Althea Gibson and Renee Blount , who won the Futures of Columbus , Allen became the first African-American to win a professional tennis tournament, the Avon Championship of Detroit . In 1983 Allen stood alongside Charles Strode in the final of the mixed competition of the French Open .
She attended the University of Southern California , where she was a member of the National Championship team. She successfully completed her studies with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications . After Allen ended her professional tennis career, she first worked as a television presenter, then as a real estate agent and motivational speaker. She was elected to the Board of Directors of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and set up a foundation to give young people a look behind the scenes of professional tennis . She now lives in Morris County , New Jersey .
United States
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