How Frances Tiafoe overcame poverty, mockery & fights with his mother to make it big in tennis: The most inspiring story at US Open 2024

It’s really very emotional story of Frances Tiafoe who overcame poverty, mockery & fights with his mother to make it big in tennis: The most inspiring story at US Open 2024

On Friday, September 6, Frances Tiafoe will face the biggest match of his career—the semifinals of the 2024 US Open. In what will be his second career Grand Slam semifinal, Tiafoe will take on fellow American Taylor Fritz.

The last time Frances Tiafoe reached the US Open semifinals was in 2022, where he faced Carlos Alcaraz. Despite putting up a strong fight, Tiafoe couldn’t overcome the eventual champion. This year, however, his chances of reaching the final appear significantly brighter, and Tiafoe is well aware of the opportunity.

At the start of the US Open, few would have predicted the World No. 20 advancing to the semifinals, let alone the final.

His side of the draw featured Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion and defending champion in New York. However, fortune favored Tiafoe as Djokovic was unexpectedly defeated in the third round by the relatively unknown Alexei Popyrin.

However, it would be a mistake to think that Frances Tiafoe has reached this point simply by luck. The 26-year-old has faced more than his share of hardships, fighting relentlessly to arrive where he is today.

The son of immigrants from Sierra Leone who fled the civil war, Tiafoe’s childhood was marked by poverty and skepticism from others. His father, Constant, worked as a janitor at a tennis center in Maryland, while his mother, Alpine, was employed as a nurse. Financial constraints made it nearly impossible for Tiafoe’s family to afford tennis equipment or enroll him in top-level coaching programs.

In a recent podcast interview with Nick Kyrgios, Frances Tiafoe shared that, as a junior, he often faced ridicule from others for wearing hand-me-down clothes and using second-hand rackets at tournaments.

Fortunately, his father, Constant, was always there to support him, encouraging him to persevere and pursue a career in tennis regardless of what others thought.

“There’s days where it got tough for me, my brother. We’re going to practice, and we’re wearing hand-me-down stuff or demo rackets, whatever you can play with. People are laughing at us, saying, ‘This guy thinks he can be a pro, or this guy is playing with holes in his shoes, whose shoes are those or Pikachu shirts and khaki shorts, and I’m playing tournaments, and they’re like, ‘That’s not even tournament equipment’ and I’m like, ‘This is all I got,'” Frances Tiafoe said.

“Yeah, my dad’s definitely one. My dad was always saying, ‘It’s not about where he starts but where you going.’ That sentence right there changed my life. He’s just so proud of me,” he added.

At the same time, his father’s job at the tennis center proved to be a silver lining. It provided Tiafoe with the opportunity to practice and hone his skills after hours, once everyone else had left for the day.

During the interview with Nick Kyrgios, Frances Tiafoe reflected on times when he and his twin brother, Franklin, were sent to spend time with their father while their mother worked the night shift. Tiafoe fondly remembered his father’s unwavering belief that things would eventually improve for their family.

“Two to three times a week, I’d get picked up from school, and my dad would be working. My brother and I would hit the ball against the wall, joke around, watch the coaches, and talk to the players. Then we’d find an empty court and try to imitate them — whiffing serves or whatever, but we were really trying,” Tiafoe recounted.

“Then my mom calls us, and she’s like, ‘I’m working overnight; you’re going to the tennis center.’ So we’re picking up trash, we’re lining the clay courts, we’re doing all this, and I always go to my dad, and I’m like, ‘Man, this is crazy.’ He’s like, ‘Look man, this is going to play out one day.’ We’re sitting in the golf cart while he’s sweeping the place, saying, ‘It is going to pan out one day,'” he added.

Frances Tiafoe has openly shared that his mother was not initially supportive of his pursuit of a professional tennis career. In a 2017 column for Players’ Tribune, Tiafoe revealed that he and his mother clashed over the issue for years, as she remained unconvinced of his decision, even after he began earning money from the sport. Instead, she envisioned a college education for him. Tiafoe holds no resentment toward his mother’s stance, acknowledging that her concerns were valid and that things could have indeed gone wrong under different circumstances, just as she had feared.

“My mom actively did not want me to play professionally. She and I fought about the decision for years, even after I turned pro and started making a little money — all she wanted for me and Franklin was for us to go to college, and I had earned my ticket anywhere I wanted to go,” Frances Tiafoe wrote.

“She had a hard time wrapping her head around that. On top of all of that, every kid I played with or against had more than me and would never have to worry about money or whether they’d be able to go to college. While turning pro had a lot of upside, for me, it could also have turned out to be a disaster,” he added.