Frances Tiafoe threw his racket on the floor and covered his face in amazement after stunning 22-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal reached the US Open quarterfinals on Monday.
And, after reaching the semifinals by defeating Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Wednesday, Tiafoe has achieved his best grand slam result to date, an accomplishment made all the more impressive given his humble beginnings.
Tiafoe’s path to tennis was anything but conventional.
After leaving Sierra Leone, his parents met in the United States and had twins, Franklin and Frances.
Constant Tiafoe, their father, began working at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in Washington, D.C. in 1999 and eventually moved into one of the centre’s vacant storage rooms while working around the clock.
His two sons would occasionally sleep on a massage table with him while their mother worked night shifts as a nurse.
The unusual entry point into the sport provided Tiafoe with an opportunity to begin honing his skills, and he hasn’t looked back since.
“Obviously, I wasn’t the wealthy kid with all the new toys or whatever. But I was just going through the motions. “I could play tennis for free, the sport I loved,” he told CNN Sport in 2015, adding that he wouldn’t trade his upbringing for anything in the world.
He won the prestigious Orange Bowl — one of tennis’ most prized junior tournaments — at the age of 15, becoming the tournament’s youngest boys’ singles champion in history.
He joined Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier, John McEnroe, and Bjorn Borg as previous champions.
It was a foreshadowing of things to come.
Tiafoe and his twin brother Franklin played in a fundraiser tournament in 2014.
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Maturing on tour
Tiafoe turned professional in 2015 and began acclimating to the rigours of the senior tour.
He broke into the top 100 and began to establish himself at grand slams, reaching his first quarterfinal at the
Australian Open in 2019 before losing to Rafael Nadal.
Three years later, he found himself in another quarterfinal on Wednesday, but this time he felt more prepared to seize the opportunity.
“Honestly, when I first came on the scene, I wasn’t mentally mature enough,” he admitted after defeating Nadal. “I’ve been able to grow, and I have a fantastic team behind me.” I’m glad I won in front of my mom, dad, girlfriend, and team, and that they could see what I did.”
Tiafoe is pursuing social justice while establishing himself as a contender on the court.
He told CNN Sport in 2022 that the lack of diversity in the sport had made him feel like an “outsider,” and he vowed to fight for equality while he still had the platform to do so.
After the death of George Floyd sparked worldwide protests, he created a protest video in 2022 to raise awareness of racial injustices.
He posted the “Racquets down, hands up” video to his social media channels in collaboration with a slew of Black players and coaches, including Serena Williams and Coco Gauff.
“Are we going to assist everyone?” Of course not, but I intend to assist as many people as possible. That’s my responsibility,” he told CNN Sport at the time.
On the court, his match against Rublev was undoubtedly the most important of his career.
The home crowd chanted for its hero, hoping he would reach new heights in his quest for a first grand slam title. And he didn’t let them down in a match where he didn’t lose a service game.
Tiafoe reached the Australian Open quarterfinal in 2019 but was beaten by Nadal.
“I feel so at home on courts like this,” Tiafoe said after defeating Rublev, the world No. 11. This court is incredible.
You guys get so far behind me that you know I want to play and give it my all. On this court, I always find a way. I always strive to play excellent tennis, and I have. Let’s take advantage of this opportunity. We’ve added two more men. We have two more.”
His performances have even piqued the interest of some of the sports’ biggest names, with NBA superstar LeBron James congratulating Tiafoe on reaching the quarterfinals.
“Thank you, big brother. “We still have some work to do,” Tiafoe replied on Twitter.
But make no mistake: this is not an overnight success story. It’s the result of thousands of hours of work and a mindset that refuses to accept no for an answer.
However, despite bearing the weight of a nation on his shoulders, Tiafoe has always prioritized making his parents proud.
“With them putting in so much effort, I didn’t want to let them down,” he told CNN Sport in 2015. “I didn’t want to take these opportunities for granted.”
Source: JoySports
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