One year ago, Frances Tiafoe headed to the U.S. Open, beloved within the tennis world but a relative unknown outside it. He emerged as the first American man to reach the U.S. Open semifinals since 2006, and the first Black American man since Arthur Ashe.<\/p>\n
Tiafoe did it by upsetting the great Rafael Nadal in an emotional, magnetic match in, as a colleague put it at the time, \u201ca stadium packed to the rafters with the sound bellowing off the roof after nearly every point.\u201d When he eventually lost in the semis to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set banger, Michelle Obama asked to see him afterward, to thank him and console him. And the national media rushed to tell his story \u2014 an unusual one in a predominantly white, wealthy sport.<\/p>\n
Heading into this year\u2019s Open, Tiafoe is the world No. 10. No longer the underdog, he is now contending with the burden and blessing of expectations and the distractions of sports celebrity. I sat down with him one week before the Open, at the Rock Creek Tennis Center in Washington, D.C., not far from where he grew up. We talked about whether his story really represents \u201cthe American dream,\u201d if he\u2019s looking forward to Novak Djokovic\u2019s retirement, and \u2026 pickleball. This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n
I am wondering what it\u2019s like at this moment in your career. You\u2019re being profiled in magazines. I just saw you in <\/strong>Vanity Fair<\/strong>. You\u2019ve got N.B.A. stars in your box. It\u2019s got to be pretty wild.<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, I talk about it all the time. That saying that your life can change overnight is 100 percent true. After I beat Rafa Nadal at last year\u2019s Open, I felt like I was looked at totally different. You don\u2019t realize what you\u2019re doing, how crazy it is, while you\u2019re doing it because you\u2019re doing it. I think afterward, going home and buying little things at CVS and ladies are like, \u201cOh my god, I can\u2019t believe this is you.\u201d It\u2019s been crazy. It\u2019s definitely not meant for everybody. It\u2019s definitely a life shift.<\/p>\n Can you tell me a little bit about that? I mean, very few people will have that experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n You need to really have solid people around you. Everybody says that but don\u2019t really live by it. A lot of people are going to want to take your time. All of a sudden, everyone wants to be your best friend. The famous guy wants to hang out, and he can do it at that time, but you maybe need to not do that. And I think the biggest thing for me is learning to say no. I still need to do a much better job of that. I\u2019ve seen it eat a lot of people up. It gets to people\u2019s heads.<\/p>\n What have you said no to that you wanted to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n Even little things, like an appearance with one of my new brand partners that would have been a cool sit-down with Matt Damon, who I\u2019m a big fan of. But I can\u2019t do it, can\u2019t go. I got to play a tournament. And it\u2019s like, ahhh.<\/p>\n You know, like, going on \u201cThe Shop\u201d with LeBron \u2014 stuff that I\u2019ve wanted to do, but scheduling just hasn\u2019t quite worked out. And then obviously parties. You\u2019ll get invited, but you probably should play a tournament. The reason people know you? You should probably stay on that.<\/p>\n When you say you\u2019ve seen other people get pulled off their path \u2014<\/strong><\/p>\n People who are so hot for a second and then you just don\u2019t hear about. And I think that\u2019s the difference between one-hit wonders and people with longevity. It\u2019s just that they\u2019re so obsessed with what they\u2019re doing and what got them to a certain place.<\/p>\n I want to talk a little about your back story. You\u2019re the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone. When you were little, your father literally helped build an elite tennis center in College Park, Md., as a construction worker. And then he got a job there as its custodian. And you actually lived there part time with your dad and your twin brother. And you started training there at the age of 5, which is incredible.<\/strong><\/p>\n These details of your life are the headline of most articles about you. Does it feel like people get your story right? Are there things that you feel like people don\u2019t understand when they talk about the way you came up?<\/strong><\/p>\n I feel like people do and don\u2019t. People hear it, they know about it, but I don\u2019t think they realize how crazy it actually is. I mean, I really was a big long shot, a huge long shot. And it just goes to show that being great at something is just having a level of obsession, and that\u2019s what I had. I just hope it inspires a lot of people, honestly.<\/p>\n You talked about how extraordinary your story is. And I guess there\u2019s a couple of ways that you can think about it. Version one is that this is the American dream, that a family can come to this country, and within a generation their son can be one of the top 10 tennis players in the whole world. But I think there\u2019s another version, which is that without an incredible amount of luck, you could have been just as talented, you could have been just as driven as you are, and yet never have become a professional tennis player.<\/strong><\/p>\n How do you think about the balance between those two versions \u2014 that your story shows both the incredible opportunities in America, but also that there are these inequalities that mean that it\u2019s much harder for someone like you to be able to get to where you are?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ironically, I look at it more as the second version.<\/p>\n Really? So then what does your story say about why there aren\u2019t more Tiafoes?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, it\u2019s the lack of access, right? The biggest thing with the game of tennis is that it\u2019s so hard to just start to play. Like very, very tough for people in low-income areas to just play the game of tennis. Shoes, rackets, clothes, stringing, court time. If it\u2019s cold and you play inside, you pay for the court. You pay for coaching. I mean, if I\u2019m a young kid, why wouldn\u2019t I just go and play basketball, where I need three other guys to play two-on-two and a hoop? It\u2019s a no-brainer.<\/p>\n I think that\u2019s the crazy thing. I imagine if I wasn\u2019t, as you said, wasn\u2019t in that situation \u2014<\/p>\n That your dad got the job at this place that allowed you to have the opportunity to be seen and to play.<\/strong><\/p>\n Think about how many people, if they were in my situation, could be doing what I\u2019m doing. People that come from similar backgrounds as me, could do something special. That\u2019s what I think about. Why aren\u2019t more people lucky enough to be in that position?<\/p>\n There have barely been any elite Black American male tennis players. How do you diagnose that problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s why I look at my story that way. I mean, 50 years until an African American male made a semifinal of the U.S. Open? Fifty years. You\u2019re telling me in 50 years a Black male can\u2019t be in the semifinal of the U.S. Open?<\/p>\n Granted, it was a great accomplishment for me! But I don\u2019t want to wait another 50.<\/p>\n I want to ask you about a separate issue, or maybe you think it\u2019s connected. But there\u2019s a real question about why American male players in general have struggled so much in the past two decades. An American man hasn\u2019t won a Grand Slam since 2003. And until your run last year, there really haven\u2019t been any U.S. stars on the men\u2019s side in the way there were before. Agassi and Sampras, McEnroe, Connors. Why do you think American men in general have had such a hard time?<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s always a funny question. I\u2019ve been dealing with it for a long time.<\/p>\n I think it is a bit of a separate issue from what we were just speaking about. My rebuttal to it is always: It doesn\u2019t really matter where your flag is from. Essentially it was four guys winning Grand Slams for a decade. One of the guys is still going at it, however old he is. He doesn\u2019t seem like he\u2019s stopping.<\/p>\n He\u2019s 36. Djokovic.<\/strong><\/p>\n Exactly. So I don\u2019t think that\u2019s really a flag issue. I think that\u2019s just an era issue. I mean, the best decade of tennis ever.<\/p>\n But we\u2019re at this changing-of-the-guard moment. Roger Federer retired last year. Nadal, who you beat last year at the U.S. Open, is having a tough season with injuries. He\u2019s also talked about retiring. Djokovic is still very much in the mix, but he is indeed 36 years old. Are you secretly glad these guys are winding down?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes and no. My goal when I was younger, I wanted to beat one of those guys in the highest-level event. You want to be the best, so you\u2019ve got to beat the best. So I\u2019m not like, Oh, man, I can\u2019t wait for these guys to stop<\/em>. I think that\u2019s a bad mentality. I think it\u2019s I\u2019ve got to get better. I\u2019ve got to beat these guys.<\/em><\/p>\n I mean, I\u2019m playing Rafa last year. I should have more legs than he has. Should! And it motivates me. Because even if Novak retires, you have new guys. Carlos Alcaraz is very good. There\u2019s always going to be someone who you\u2019re going to have to beat.<\/p>\n So, um, nah.<\/p>\n I was watching <\/strong>this conversation<\/strong> you had with Chris Eubanks and Ben Shelton, two other young Black American players. And you said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to be the reason why the game changes.\u201d What did you mean by that?<\/strong><\/p>\n I just think diversity in sports, right? You bring a whole different demographic to the game. It\u2019s history, and you\u2019re watching it live. It\u2019s the reason why Chris Eubanks\u2019s run at Wimbledon was so big. It\u2019s iconic stuff in a predominantly white sport. So I think we have a bit of a different impact. You start seeing more people of color in the stadium, paying that hard-earned money to come watch because it\u2019s history, it\u2019s different.<\/p>\n How does that make you feel, that more people are using their hard-earned money to come to the stands? People of color that you\u2019re bringing into the sport?<\/strong><\/p>\n It means everything to me. It means everything to me, but at the same time it\u2019s like, damn, you feel the responsibility to perform, to be your best self for them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s interesting. You\u2019ve just discussed this tension, which is feeling really great to be able to inspire people, but also feeling like it\u2019s a burden. And I think most people of color who are successful would say that it\u2019s really difficult to be the first and the only. Because there is this tension. Do you feel like it pushes you farther, or do you feel like it sometimes can weigh you down?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a great question. First off, yeah, as you achieve it, you definitely think about that. I don\u2019t want to be the first and only, as I said earlier. But I think it inspires me, man. It really does. It makes me want to have longevity with this thing at a high level. Because you think about Serena and Venus. That\u2019s why you create a Sloane Stephens winning a Grand Slam. That\u2019s why you create a Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka. And that\u2019s the position I want to be in, right?<\/p>\n But the job doesn\u2019t end until you do the ultimate goal, and that\u2019s to win a Grand Slam.<\/p>\n That\u2019s your goal right now? That\u2019s the thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s the only thing that matters, to be fair. If I win a Grand Slam, there\u2019s nothing anyone could say or ask of me after that.<\/p>\n So you\u2019ve been pretty vocal about how you think tennis should modernize and bring in new fans. You\u2019ve said you\u2019d like to see the sport borrow from basketball and be more relaxed when it comes to fan behavior. Why do you think that would be a good thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n People are like, oh, that\u2019s not this game, that\u2019s not tennis. Well, the question was how do we bring in younger fans? If you go to a soccer game, you go to a football game, a baseball game, you\u2019re not quiet, are you?<\/p>\n No.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s entertainment. Obviously with tennis you need a little bit more structure. But for example, in between games, when people are standing on top of the stadium and ask the usher, \u201cWell, when can I come down? I\u2019m paying for tickets and I can\u2019t even come and go as I please?\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to change the whole way of it, but within reason. I think a lot more young people would be like, OK, this is cool. You know, music playing more constantly, maybe in between points or in high-pressure moments.<\/p>\n You think about the U.S. Open atmosphere, and they\u2019re doing it anyway. Like, I\u2019m playing in that stadium, it\u2019s rockin\u2019. People are drunk out of their minds, they\u2019re just screaming whenever they want. You can\u2019t control the environment anyway, so you might as well let it rock.<\/p>\n But, hey, man, I don\u2019t make the rules.<\/p>\n OK, I have a question for you. What do you think of pickleball?<\/strong><\/p>\n [Laughs] I think it\u2019s a sport I should invest in. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a sport that I like. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a great sport. But from the business side, I love it.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it takes very much skill. I go to Florida and I see a lot of older people playing and joking with the kids and having fun, but as far as creating all these leagues and tournaments and pro events, I just feel like tennis players who couldn\u2019t quite do it out here are trying to make something out there.<\/p>\n And they\u2019re closing down tennis courts in order to make pickleball courts.<\/strong><\/p>\n For that sport to have an effect on the game of tennis, it\u2019s ridiculous to me.<\/p>\n Thank you for indulging me. To get back to your generation: There\u2019s a lot of buzz around Carlos Alcaraz. He\u2019s 20, he\u2019s won two Slams, and it looks like he\u2019s just getting started. Are you worried he\u2019s a player who\u2019s becoming the guy to beat?<\/strong><\/p>\n No, it\u2019s good! It\u2019s good. He\u2019s good. He\u2019s good for the game. Hell of a player. He is going to be special. He\u2019s going to be a guy that\u2019s going to push me to always want more and be at my best, because if I want to achieve anything special, I got to go through him. Once Novak leaves, he\u2019s the guy to beat.<\/p>\n That brings me to where you are right now. You\u2019re world No. 10. You\u2019ve won a couple of tournaments this year, but you\u2019ve also been knocked out early in others, including a <\/strong>heartbreaker at Wimbledon<\/strong>. How do you evaluate your overall performance this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think I\u2019ve had a good year. I\u2019ve won 30-something matches. I\u2019ve won a couple titles. I\u2019m probably the most consistent I\u2019ve been this year as far as week to week. But I\u2019d much rather take more L\u2019s, more losses, with a deeper run in a Slam. So we got one more shot. And obviously I want to go deep and put myself in title contention.<\/p>\n How are you preparing for that?<\/strong><\/p>\n I know what I want to do. I know I want to win the event. It\u2019s a matter of beating the guys you\u2019re supposed to beat. But it is what it is. I\u2019m 25. It doesn\u2019t have to be right now.<\/p>\n I want to ask you a little bit about the specifics of your game. You changed coaches. You reworked your technique, particularly your forehand. I watched the Netflix \u201cBreak Point\u201d episode \u2014 that\u2019s the documentary series about the tennis tour \u2014 and there was a lot of talk about your focus, about trying to up your consistency. So when you think about how your game has changed, do you think the shift has been more mental or more physical?<\/strong><\/p>\n The physical side has played a part. I\u2019ve gotten much more fit, much more lean in the last couple years. But I think the mental side is the biggest thing. I\u2019ve just made a choice. I made a choice that I\u2019m committing to the game. I made a choice that I\u2019m going to be more professional. I made a choice that I\u2019m going to sacrifice a bit more of my outside tennis activities. Pick your moments of whatever pleasure \u2014 trying to just put tennis as the No. 1 priority.<\/p>\n So saying no to LeBron.<\/strong><\/p>\n [Laughs] Yes.<\/p>\n Was there a moment when you made that choice?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes. Going into the pandemic, I was not in a good place. Playing horribly. I was just enjoying life and got really complacent and it showed in my game a lot. It was the first time I really went through adversity as it pertains to the game of tennis. Losing a lot of matches and I didn\u2019t really know how to handle it. So that was very tough.<\/p>\n And then, just having a conversation with my boys, looking at the rankings, I\u2019m like, dude, these guys ahead of me, they\u2019re not better than me. Like, this is not reality. This can\u2019t be my reality. And then from that point, I hired coaches. A lot of my team is new. My fitness coach travels with me much more. I started just slowly making choices. Being coachable. Stop trying to act like I know everything. Just slowly break old habits, which is very tough. It\u2019s been a long process, but it\u2019s been good. These last three years have been good. I\u2019ve changed a lot.<\/p>\n I want to take you back to last year\u2019s U.S. Open. Because, you know, losing is terrible for everyone, but it feels like it hits you particularly hard. In your postmatch interview after you lost in the semifinals, even though it was this incredible moment, you said, and I\u2019m quoting here, \u201cI feel like I let you guys down.\u201d Who did you feel like you let down?<\/strong><\/p>\n The country.<\/p>\n The country?<\/strong><\/p>\n The country. I\u2019ve never felt that much weight. Never felt that much energy. I checked into my hotel three weeks prior to that match. It was kind of like, whatever, nobody was really bothering me. Then at the end, I have security outside my door, people are going crazy, I\u2019m all over New York, can\u2019t go anywhere, everyone\u2019s coming to the match.<\/p>\n And I really believed I could do it. After I beat Rafa, after I backed up that win and I gave everything I had. You know, it just wasn\u2019t good enough. And at that particular moment, I genuinely felt that way. I felt like I let those guys down. I wasn\u2019t feeling sorry for myself, but I was letting them know that I want to come back and finish the job. It was an emotional moment. It was very tough. No competitor wants to feel like they fell short.<\/p>\n