Frances Tiafoe is in his element when he talks passionately about the growing presence of black and mixed heritage players at the highest levels of men’s tennis. During a stroll on tournament grounds he reels off the names of players he competes with regularly on the tour. “Now they’re at a position where I have wars with them and go back and forth. So this is great, man. It’s great to see,” he says. “And then you have Giovanni [Mpetshi Perricard], you have Gaël [Monfils], who I looked up to.”
Seconds after Tiafoe mentions his name, Monfils suddenly appears from around a corner as if magically summoned by the American’s utterance. His arrival naturally leads to a pause in this interview as an excited Tiafoe greets Monfils by heaping praise on his new haircut, particularly focusing his attention on the Frenchman’s sleek fade. Monfils responds with a compliment of his own: “You’re looking like a wedding day,” he says, laughing.
This encounter perfectly encapsulates the dynamic between two different generations of black players in a sport where their success immediately marks them as trailblazers. Although they step on to the court with the sole intention of beating each other, there is also a deep understanding between them and they are extremely supportive.
“He texts me all the time,” says Tiafoe. “He tells me, like: ‘Yo, you can do this.’ Don’t get it twisted, when he plays he still wants to beat my ass and so do I, but it’s just a lot of love.”
Tiafoe, at No 14 in the rankings is the third-highest ranked US man behind Taylor Fritz, the world No 4, and Ben Shelton, who won the Toronto Masters 1000 on Thursday night, but in terms of name recognition the 27-year-old has become the most prominent US male tennis player in years.
His matches attract NBA stars like Kevin Durant, he breaks bread with Taylor Swift and has earned a fan in Michelle Obama. In recent weeks Tiafoe has been name-dropped in songs from the rap duo Clipse and the rapper Wale.
“I still think he’s the player on tour with the most clout, like every celebrity knows him, or he knows every celebrity. He’s mentioned in two rap songs, so he’s pretty iconic,” says Coco Gauff, laughing.
Tiafoe, for his part, believes his burgeoning profile underlines the importance of tennis reaching beyond its traditional audience: “Just to be able to be in a position where I get crossover, people want to be a part of things I’m doing in a predominantly white sport. They see themselves in me, in the sport, and they want to get behind me. Hopefully I’m able to get that done,” he says.
There is also simply nobody like Tiafoe. His extroverted character and bluntness can be abrasive to some spectators, but he is kind, warm and has time for everyone. Laughter is never far from his lips, which makes his energy infectious. He has also deliberately made a point of using his platform to promote…
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