On the occasion of Black History Month, ESPN.com takes a look at the state of our games. Each sport has made its own advances in racial equality, but each also has its own challenges still to face. Today, Greg Garber reports on tennis.

James Blake acknowledges a direct debt to the late Arthur Ashe. His father, Tom, picked up the game of tennis in the service during the 1970s.

"He got into tennis because of Arthur Ashe," says Blake. "He wouldn't have tried if not for Arthur Ashe breaking the barrier. For me personally, I looked up to Mal Washington."

	James Blake traces his inspiration through Malivai Washington and back to Arthur Ashe.

Malivai Washington, quite naturally, admired Ashe. When Washington reached the 1996 Wimbledon final, it echoed Ashe's groundbreaking 1975 triumph at the All England Club. Now that Washington and his aching knees have retired, Blake represents the future for African-American men in tennis. He and the movement itself have a way to go. Blake, 20, is ranked No. 143 in the world.

On the women's side, there has been enormous progress at the elite level. Venus and Serena Williams, aged 19 and 18, are ranked No. 3 and No. 4 on the Sanex WTA Tour. When Serena won the 1999 U.S. Open, she became the first African-American woman to win the championship since Althea Gibson in 1958 and the only African American other than Ashe to win a Grand Slam singles title in the past 25 years.

Chanda Rubin, who just turned 24, is ranked No. 21 on the WTA Tour. Alexandra Stevenson, 19, was the first woman qualifier ever to reach the Wimbledon semifinals a year ago. She is in her first full year on the Tour and has been ranked as high as No. 36.

"I think we're making some progress," says Rodney Harmon, the United States Tennis Association's director of multicultural development. "From my standpoint, things look great.

"Look at last year's U.S. Open women's doubles final. With Chanda and the Williams sisters, three of the four were African Americans."

Harmon, the only African-American man since Ashe to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, is part of the USTA's $35 million investment in making the game more accessible. The "Plan for Growth" is in its third season and last year alone some 260,000 people took part in nationwide clinics and recreation programs. More than 50,000 of the participants were believed to be minorities.

Virginia Glass, a San Diego-based contributor to Black Tennis Magazine, isn't impressed with the USTA effort.

"If you're talking about developing grass roots with the USTA, that's not so impressive," Glass says. "There are three outstanding women coming up, but what's behind those three? They weren't the result of a concentrated effort by the USTA. They had very select and unusual parents, who knew what they were doing.

"If the USTA could open its eyes and offer more support, then they would open up the coffers instead of (doing] all this talking. They need to step up. It's the organization for the country, but not for minorities."

Harmon, not surprisingly, begs to differ.

"I do think there's definitely some ebb and flow, but I'm excited about pros and juniors on the women's side," he says. "We have three real up-and-coming stars: Megan Bradley, No. 1 in the USTA national girls' 16-and-under division; Jamea Jackson, No. 3, girls' 14-and-under; and Shadisha Robinson, No. 4 in 14-and-under."

It is worth noting that Bradley is the daughter of Phil Bradley, of Balitomore Orioles fame. Jackson is the daughter of former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Ernie Jackson. Stevenson generated huge headlines last year when it was revealed she is the daughter of basketball Hall of Famer Julius "Dr. J" Erving.

The Williams sisters had no such pedigree. Richard Williams raised his daughters to be champions in the unlikely venue of Compton, Calif., a hard-bitten place known better for producing gangsta rap.

Last year the sisters played each other in one final and seperately won finals of their own on the same day. They won 11 titles between them. When Serena won the U.S. Open and Venus reached the semifinals, it was the best combined result for two sisters in a Grand Slam in the open era.

Their quickness and sometimes astonishing athletic ability has changed the women's game. Their court coverage is unprecedented. Lindsay Davenport lost 30 pounds over the last two years and has improved her foot speed, in part, to counter the Williams' advantages. Even Martina Hingis, a '90s version of the baselining Chris Evert, has had to change the way she approaches conditioning.

Anne Worcester, former WTA Tour CEO, believes the Williams sisters have an appeal that transcends race.

"I think Venus and Serena are lighting lights in faraway corners with kids and adults, African Americans and every other race on the planet," Worcester says. "Venus and Serena are great for American tennis in general because they attract all kinds of fans."

The results for men have been less spectacular. Perhaps it is because, unlike the women, there are so many options in professional sports for men in the United States.

As Harmon says, "I just hope we can find a few more top boys."

The next one on the horizon beyond Blake is Levar Harper-Griffith, who learned the game in Brooklyn, N.Y. At the age of 18, he was selected by U.S. Davis Cup captain John McEnroe to be a practice partner for Andre Agassi, Chris Woodruff, Rick Leach and Alex O'Brien in Zimbabwe earlier this month.

McEnroe, a student of history, called Harper-Griffith a "model" and "someone who will do other people some good, too." McEnroe added, "It's also an historic opportunity for an African American on the first trip to Africa for a U.S. Davis Cup team."

Harper-Griffith, who turned pro in January, is ranked only No. 1,306 on the ATP Tour, but he won the 1999 USTA national boys' 18 doubles with partner Andy Roddick. They also reached the second round of the U.S. Open doubles, defeating NCAA champions K.J. Hippensteel and Ryan Wolters.

Blake, who attended Harvard University for two years before turning professional last year, is farther along in his career trajectory. He was the No. 1-ranked collegian in 1999 and played in several ATP Tour main draws. He produced his first (and only) ATP Tour match victory in Newport and won four pro singles events.

His biggest win to date came in the recent Hopman Cup, when he beat Wayne Ferreira of South Africa in singles. His partner in the mixed team competition? Alexandra Stevenson. They finished third overall.

Blake grew up in Connecticut's affluent Fairfield County, but that didn't leave him immune to the ugly specter of racism.

"I saw it in juniors, one of the parents of a kid I was playing," Blake says. "I was a little hurt by that, especially since he was a nice kid. There's stupid people all around, but I try not to let it get to me."

Blake hopes his example will inspire other African Americans to follow him into tennis.

"That's a goal for me to work with grass roots programs and get kids who want to play tennis out on the courts -- even if they're not going to be the next Venus and Serena," Blake says.

"That's something I hope for: to have kids say they got into tennis because they saw me. It would be a dream come true."