'I absolutely experienced racism in and out of tennis,' says former Wimbledon finalist Mal Washington

MaliVai Washington is a "little sad." That's because he holds a 24-year record that he never expected to possess for so long -- he's the last African-American man to reach a grand slam final.

On July 7, 1996, Washington strode onto Centre Court beside Dutchman Richard Krajicek for the biggest match of his career: the Wimbledon final.

It was the first time two unseeded players had reached this final, which was also disrupted by an infamous streaker appearance just before the coin toss.

The match itself was over in 94 minutes with Krajicek needing only three sets to dismiss his opponent. But the feeling of being there on that day, on the cusp of history, lingers on for Washington.

"It's distressing. It's unfortunate and a little sad," Washington told CNN Sport as he reflected on that 24-year record and that it's also 45 years since a Black American last won Wimbledon.

"I'm surprised that we don't have more Americans, period, on the men's side, but also more Black men who are succeeding at a high level."

He says people underestimate just how difficult it is for a player of any colour to achieve the feat -- especially in the era of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the sport's Big Three.'

"It's like catching lightning in a bottle," says Washington. "The last American man to reach the final of a major was in 2003, Andy Roddick ... I mean, that just shows you how difficult it is not just for people of colour, but for people in general to reach the final of a major.

"A lot of that has to do with, you know, someone named Federer and Nadal and Djokovic over the past 15 years."

But it also has a lot to do with what he calls "the numbers game."

"A young Black boy who's five years old, 10 years old, can turn on the TV Saturday or Sunday during any college football or pro football season, and he can see a ton of players that look a lot like him. Guess what? That's his guy and that's who he wants to be. That's not necessarily the case at all with tennis on the men's side."

The 51-year-old knows he was lucky. Like so many other professionals in the game, it was his father who introduced him to tennis at the age of five and instilled in him a work ethic so strong that he and three other siblings went on to play professionally.

But the experience of seeing other players that looked like him succeed, also had an impact, notably Frenchman Yannick Yoah, who won the French Open in 1983.

"I loved a guy like Yannick Noah ... I was asked to warm him up at the US Open when I was still a junior. And I thought it was like the coolest thing in the world.

"But I was worried about screwing it up and nervous I'd turned up at the wrong court. A few minutes before 6 p.m. I saw this sea of people coming towards the court.

"You could see his head and these dreadlocks and hear that French accent above the crowd walking towards me. We exchanged a few words; he said, 'I heard you're a promising young player, good luck.' It was a special moment for me."