Tiafoe won the Boys' 18s title in the 2013 Orange Bowl at the age of 15, becoming the tournament's youngest champion in the tournament's 67-year history.
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Frances Tiafoe’s stock has consistently risen over the last three years. True to his self-assigned hashtag, #BigFoeOnTheComeUp—a personal 21st-century slogan for the Instagram age—”Big Foe” is making waves in the tennis world. Tiafoe, who has a contagious enthusiasm, has rapidly become a fan favourite. His hustle and passion have earned him the respect of his peers, while his shot-making and NBA-style victory celebrations have made him a must-see.
Frances Tiafoe’s stock has consistently risen over the last three years. True to his self-assigned hashtag, #BigFoeOnTheComeUp—a personal 21st-century slogan for the Instagram age—”Big Foe” is making waves in the tennis world. Tiafoe, who has a contagious enthusiasm, has rapidly become a fan favourite. His hustle and passion have earned him the respect of his peers, while his shot-making and NBA-style victory celebrations have made him a must-see.
Tiafoe was born in Hyattsville, Maryland, to Sierra Leonean immigrants Frances Sr. and Alphina. His father worked on the building crew that erected the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland, and was eventually elevated to the position of head of maintenance. Frances and his twin brother Franklin began training there when they were five years old.
Tiafoe won the Boys’ 18s title in the 2013 Orange Bowl at the age of 15, becoming the tournament’s youngest champion in the tournament’s 67-year history. Four months later, he won the 2014 Easter Bowl, another highly regarded junior competition, and quickly rose to No. 2 in the ITF World Junior Rankings. He was the first American to win both the Orange Bowl and the Easter Bowl 18s since John McEnroe in 1976.
Tiafoe earned his first professional title in February 2018 at Delray Beach, defeating his idol Juan Martin del Potro in three sets in the second round. Tiafoe went on to beat fellow Next Generation talents Hyeon Chung and Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals and semifinals, before defeating Peter Gojowczyk in the final. Last May, Tiafoe reached the final of a clay-court tournament in Estoril, Portugal, defeating world No. 11 Pablo Carreno Busta en way to the championship match, when he was defeated by clay-court specialist Joao Sousa.
Wayne Ferreira is Frances Tiafoe’s current trainer. Before taking over during the tennis season of 2020, Ferreira first worked with Frances as a second coach. Ferreira, an ex-American tennis player who won 26 career titles, 15 Singles titles, and 11 Doubles titles, was a phenomenal player. The former World No. 6 retired in 2005 to start his coaching career. He has known Marian Cilic from Croatia for some time and captained the South African Davis Cup team during that time.
Despite the fact that they have yet to produce a title together, he has had an impact on Frances. He joined Frances when he was ranked 87 in the world and has since helped him climb to number 24. (highest ranking so far in his career). Additionally, it is a fantastic accomplishment to see him advance to the top 200 in the doubles category.
