Artist Melissa Koby creates US Open theme artCEFR A2
20 Aug 2025
Adapted from Candice Stewart, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Barnabas Lartey-Odoi Tetteh, Unsplash
Melissa Koby is a Jamaican-born artist who lives in Florida. She is the first Black artist chosen to create imagery for the 2025 US Open. The theme is "75 Years of Breaking Barriers" and it honours Althea Gibson.
Koby said she felt her late grandmother while making the piece. Her grandmother left school early and raised nine children, and this inspired Koby to put strong feeling into the art.
The artwork layers several profiles over a US Open-blue court. It includes the Statue of Liberty, Arthur Ashe Stadium and the Tiffany trophies. The images will appear as posters and banners at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
Difficult words
- imagery — Pictures or visual ideas used in art.
- honour — Show respect for a person or event.honours
- inspire — Give someone a strong idea or feeling.inspired
- layer — Put one thing on top of another.layers
- profile — Side view or simple picture of a person.profiles
- trophy — A prize made of metal for a winner.trophies
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Have you ever been inspired by a family member? Who and why?
- Which image from the artwork (Liberty, Arthur Ashe Stadium, or trophies) would you choose for a poster? Why?
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