EXCLUSIVE | American tennis ace talks about collaboration with SA great Wayne Ferreira | Sport

Frances Tiafoe. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

• Frances Tiafoe, who reached a career-high ranking of 29 in the world in 2019, talks about being coached by South African Wayne Ferreira and getting back to his best after injury.
• The 24-year-old, born in the US but whose parents hail from Sierra Leone, outlines his desire to get more black people playing tennis and being inspired by the Williams sisters.
• He also explores what it will take to crack the ATP top 10 and the gains he’s been making from a mental and physical standpoint as he readies himself for Miami Open’s third round.

Sport24 asked: What has it been like having Wayne Ferreira as your coach?

Frances Tiafoe: It’s been a good partnership so far. (The former ATP top 10 player joined Tiafoe’s coaching team in 2020). I wanted someone who was older than me as a coach and has had the experience of playing tennis at a high level for x amount of time. Wayne is a good vet guy who is one of the legends of the sport. (Ferreira won 15 singles and 11 doubles titles during his career). Wayne is hard on me and is very serious in terms of how I approach the game. He is also really good with tactics and as far as breaking down opponents goes. At this level, everyone hits the ball great stuff out here, so it’s more about the mental side of the game which Wayne has helped me with a lot. I feel like I’m definitely going in the right direction and have matured a lot. I know myself better than when I turned pro in 2015 and have an understanding of how I want to bring my best self every day.

Sport24 asked: What improvements are you looking to make in your game?

Frances Tiafoe: Players who are winning a lot of matches hold serve quite often and I’ve really been working on my serve. And then it’s about how you build consistency and how you bring your best self each and every week. It’s about you being fully there competing, playing great tennis and being present. I think competing and being a tough competitor goes a long way – and those are kind of the main things. In terms of consistency in the sport, I think everyone looks to Rafael Nadal. There are a lot of people who just want to emulate his career. But, for me, it’s within reason because I really want to be myself and not anyone else out there. I’ve recovered from an elbow injury, which took a minute to heal, and I’m trying to put in a good day after the next. It will be nice to go on a little run here at the Miami Open. I’m feeling good and I’ve always done pretty well in Miami. I like playing here and love the city. (Tiafoe began his campaign against fellow American Brandon Nakashima with a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 Round of 64 win). In terms of my 2022 season, to be honest with you I want to keep building and really start hitting my stride. That second half is really big for me. I’m looking to do really well on clay but I also want to be playing my best tennis heading into the grass court season.

Sport24 asked: Your take on the ‘King Richard’ film and if Serena will retire?

Frances Tiafoe: It was unbelievable to see and be at the premiere as well. I don’t have the verdict on it at all but I hope Serena comes back. But when though is all up to her. Serena coming back to get 24 or 25 (grand slam titles) is on her but she has already changed my life. She is an absolute legend and what she’s done for the game is crazy. I hope she does it (breaks Margaret Court’s slam record) but if she doesn’t, I think Serena Williams’ name stays just as big. I was nervous as hell playing doubles with her but she’s super cool. She is also super down to earth and funny. It was cool playing together and after that we built a close-knit relationship. To have someone you looked up to for so long now call your close friend is cool. She gives me advice which has been a real positive gain. It’s been an honour to spend actual time with her and not just on the court. I have got to know her and I love greatness and to get in the great one’s minds. The time spent with Serena definitely helped me a lot and I then went on to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open shortly after that year (Tiafoe was eventually ousted by Nadal at the 2019 event) and I put a lot of it (the success) down to Serena.

Sport24 asked: Is it a passion project to get more black kids playing tennis?

Frances Tiafoe: For sure. I want to get more people of colour playing tennis. I think representation is so big and doing it at eye level will obviously bring attention to it and it will help that. For example, without Serena and Venus there would be no Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka or Sloane Stephens. You can argue that that doesn’t happen without the Williams sisters. I’m not going to try telling you I want to win as many grand slams as Serena and Venus, who have had unbelievable careers. But just to be able to get to the stage where I do well enough where people like me and want to get into tennis because it’s the cool thing to do would be a win. I think tennis is such a great sport – you can play and travel the world. But for poorer black kids in America it’s not as accessible as basketball and football and it’s about making it so and helping more kids play the game. That is definitely my passion because it would be great to see tons of black people playing the game of tennis. Wayne jokes with me all the time about launching a tennis programme in South Africa so yeah, we will see!

Sport24 asked: Have you set your sights on being an ATP top 10 player?

Frances Tiafoe: My goal is absolutely to break into the top 10. I’m not so far away (Tiafoe is currently ranked 31st on the ATP World Rankings) and if I can put my head down, string some results together and really make a push I know I can get there. Right now, it’s more about being back (on the circuit) after injury and playing matches. I want to get into the swing of things again, peak and play great tennis really soon. That’s my short-term goal but long-term I want to have a top 10 finish. I have already played a lot of great tennis and beaten a lot of tough guys. I’m not afraid of the big moments and love playing at packed arenas against the best players in the world. So I mean top 10 – definitely why not? I’ve been on the tour for a while now and nothing is new. I think it’s the next step for me.

In part two next week, Tiafoe talks about where he stands on the GOAT debate, what it meant to him to win the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award and the inspiration behind his shirt-ripping celebration…

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Marc Pritzen