'Losing to clowns' - When Frances Tiafoe made controversial remark about other tennis players

Frances Tiafoe has a win-loss record of 24-18 this season and he’s currently ranked 20.

After his first-round win over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi at Wimbledon 2024 Championships, America’s Frances Tiafoe recalled his ranking in July last year. Additionally, he also exhibited censure about being seeded 29th at the grass-court Grand Slam.

During the same interview, he also used the word ‘clowns’. He said, “Literally this week last year I was 10 in the world and now I’m barely seeded here, losing to clowns, I mean… I hate to say it, but I’m just gonna be honest with you guys.”

Frances Tiafoe’s comments gained criticism from the tennis world for calling other players on the tour ‘clowns’. Fans also questioned the American tennis star’s form and recalled the matches where he lost to lower-ranked players such as Rinky Hijikata (#98), Denis Shapovalov (#118), and Jungcheng Shang (#183).

However, at the 2024 Citi DC Open, he addressed his comments from the Wimbledon Championships. He stated that people misunderstood his statement. Tiafoe also stated that his colleagues on the tour were laughing alongside him because he made the statement jokingly.

The American tennis star said, “100%. I mean, I definitely like a bunch of team sports. People were saying way worse things. I’ve seen Luka Doncic in the Playoffs cursing guys out. I mean, saying way worse things and it’s not that serious.”

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Frances Tiafoe added, “Yeah, I think it got taken the wrong way. At the same time, everyone on tour was laughing with me because it was me. I think it was all good fun in the end. I think people are going to hold their hat on that for a while.”

However, after almost a month of controversy, the 2022 US Open semifinalist has reached his maiden ATP 1000 Masters final. In the final of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, he will face ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Tiafoe requires only one victory to win his first ATP Masters title.

Unseeded in Cincinnati, the 26-year-old started his campaign against Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Later, he recorded a resounding victory over 2024 Olympics bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti before he defeated Jiri Lehecka to reach the quarterfinals.

Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz retired from his match against Tiafoe due to a knee injury. However, Tiafoe secured a place in the biggest final of his professional career by defeating former World No. 4.

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