A statue of African-American icon Arthur Ashe has been vandalized with “White Lives Matter” and “WLM” in Virginia … and now police are investigating.

The monument was tagged in white spray paint early Wednesday morning … and law enforcement says they have info on potential suspects.

The original vandalism was later written over with “BLM” in red spray paint … and local reports say community members were already trying to remove the graffiti by the time cops arrived to the scene.

Ashe — who broke barriers in the sport of tennis in becoming the first black man to win the Wimbledon, Australian Open and U.S. Open — was honored with a statue in his hometown of Richmond in 1996.

It’s worth noting … the Ashe tribute is part of Richmond’s Memorial Avenue, which is filled with statues to Confederate leaders that have been attacked by protesters following George Floyd’s death.