Frances Tiafoe, an American professional tennis player, was born on January 20, 1998, in Hyattsville, Maryland, alongside his twin brother Franklin. He is the son of Constant Tiafoe (commonly known as Frances Sr.) and Alphina Kamara, who are immigrants from Sierra Leone. Constant immigrated to the United States in 1993, followed by Alphina in 1996, as they sought to escape the civil war ravaging their home country.
In 1999, Constant began working as a day laborer on the construction of the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) in College Park, Maryland. Upon completion of the facility, he was hired as its custodian and provided with a small office to live in. For the next eleven years, Frances and Franklin lived with their father at the JTCC for five days each week, allowing them to start playing tennis regularly at the age of four. They spent weekends with their mother when she was not working her night shifts as a nurse.
Tiafoe’s accomplishments on the tennis court are notable. In 2022, he made headlines by defeating Rafael Nadal at the US Open and reached the quarterfinals, although he lost in the semifinals. His success has contributed to a growing interest in tennis within Sierra Leone.
Frances Tiafoe has claimed three ATP titles throughout his career. He won his first title at the 2018 Delray Beach Open, becoming the youngest American man to win an ATP Tour event since Andy Roddick in 2002. He secured his second title on clay at the 2023 U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships in Houston and his third title on grass at the Stuttgart Open later that same year. Tiafoe achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 10 on June 19, 2023, marking him as the first Sierra Leonean American man to reach such a ranking in ATP history. Additionally, he reached a career-high doubles ranking of No. 160 on November 1, 2021.