Frances Tiafoe at 2016 Wimbledon
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Country (sports) | United States |
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Residence | Boca Raton, Florida |
Born |
College Park, Maryland |
January 20, 1998
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Turned pro | 2015 |
Plays | Right-handed (Two-handed backhand) |
Coach(es) | Nicolas Todero and Robby Ginepri |
Prize money | $398,010 |
Singles | |
Career record | 3–13 |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 91 (13 February 2017) |
Current ranking | No. 91 (13 February 2017) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2017) |
French Open | 1R (2015) |
Wimbledon | Q1 (2016) |
US Open | 1R (2015, 2016) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 1–3 |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 521 (22 September 2014) |
Current ranking | No. 675 (13 February 2017) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
US Open | 2R (2014) |
Last updated on: February 13, 2017. |
Frances Tiafoe (born January 20, 1998) is an American tennis player who is widely considered as one of the United States' next tennis stars. As of January 30, 2017, he is the youngest player in the Top 100 and the second youngest active player to win a Grand Slam match.
At 15 years old, Tiafoe became the youngest boys' singles champion in Orange Bowl history. At 17, he earned a wild card to play in the main draw of the French Open, becoming the youngest American to participate in the draw since Michael Chang in 1989. As a teenager, he has also won the US Junior National Championship and enjoyed success on the ATP Challenger Tour with 7 finals and 2 titles.
Frances' parents, Constant and Alphina, are immigrants from Sierra Leone. He has a twin-brother named Franklin. In 1999, his father began working as a day laborer on a construction crew that built the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland, and was later hired as the custodian. At age four, Frances began training at JTCC. When he was eight, a tennis pro at the Center, Misha Kouznetsov, became his coach and mentor.
On December 13, 2013, Tiafoe became the youngest player to win the Orange Bowl, defeating Stefan Kozlov in three sets in the final. On April 13, 2014, he also won the Easter Bowl.
In May, he was the top seed in the French Open junior tournament. However, he was upset in the second round by Jan Choinski. He went into Wimbledon seeded 7th and was knocked out in the third round to fellow American Noah Rubin. He came back strong in the U.S. Open and reached the semifinals where he lost a very tight match to Quentin Halys.
In August 2015, Tiafoe won the U18 National Championship by defeating Stefan Kozlov in the final in a five set match 6–2, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6, 6–4. With the win, he earned a Wild Card into the main draw at the US Open.