Frances Tiafoe has built a reputation for electrifying tennis and fearless shot-making since turning pro in 2015. His recent French Open quarterfinal run, marking the deepest by an American man since Andre Agassi in 2003, rekindled hopes on the Parisian clay. But just as fast as dreams rise, they can falter, as seen in his abrupt 1st-round exit at the HSBC Championship to open the grass season. Still, one thing remains unforgettable: his unorthodox forehand. It’s the shot that has fans talking and opponents guessing. And now, Big Foe is finally here, lifting the curtain on what makes that wild, whippy stroke so dangerously effective!

Frances Tiafoe’s forehand isn’t just a shot: it’s a spectacle. A weapon born of chaos, refined through instinct, and packed with the kind of unpredictability that makes opponents second-guess every move. Unlike most textbook forehands on the ATP tour, Big Foe’s takeback is wild and unmistakably his. His arm rises above the racquet, the swing path is exaggerated, and the energy? Pure electricity! While many players guide their forehands with structured precision, Tiafoe lets his fly, and that difference alone makes it a game-changer.

His grip, a strong semi-western, demands improvisation, and the current 13th seed delivers with flair. The ball coming off his forehand explodes with heavy topspin, completely different from his flatter, cleaner backhand. That contrast alone forces his opponents into uncomfortable positions, both offensively and defensively. One shot skids low, the next leaps at your shoulders. And the beauty of it? Even Tiafoe didn’t intend for this shot to be born. It was a pure accident. Pure Tiafoe.

Speaking on “The Changeover” podcast, Tiafoe peeled back the curtain on how his unorthodox stroke came to life. “That was super funny,” he laughed. “Actually, I used to have a normal forehand if you really go back, I used to have like a normal forehand. So when you talking about the stiff thing, I went to Les Petits, right? I went twice, the first time I was fine, and came back. Still a normal forehand, went the second time, and I remember, I was behind in school, and I didn’t play for like a week and a half, came back out, and I was like, Yo, I can’t hit a forehand.” 

The story only gets wilder later for Frances Tiafoe. “Like my s–t doing all the weird s–t. And I was just like, and it was like yo, we can’t take you to a tournament with this. Like your forehead is out of control. And it’s funny because, like, I’ll go downstairs from the school, and I will see, like, Gasquet or Delpo hit.” Downstairs, he’d watch stars like Gasquet and the Argentine Del Potro tee off, and tried mimicking their motion. “I always like copy forehands. So I can like and they were like bro, you got to stop like, for like, I’m like, oh, I can always hit a forehand. But now I’m not joking. I just can’t figure it out.” And one day, swinging at a wall, something clicked. 

“I’m like, yeah, how was I swinging? There’s like why you bending your elbow so much, like, what are you doing? So, I went on the wall and I came back and just got all stiff with it. It felt right. I was like, yeah, this will do for a little bit. I was like, yeah, I can cook dudes. Like it’s hitting like just like that. They’re like, yeah,” he added later.

But that creative chaos didn’t carry into the grass season, though. His 1st-round exit at the HSBC Championship raised alarms. Was it just rust? A grass-court misfire? Or is it time for a tactical shift? A few voices from the American tennis fraternity, former greats who know the game inside out, have started to whisper after the loss. 

CoCo Vandeweghe Breaks Silence on Frances Tiafoe’s Recent Defeat

Frances Tiafoe has had a wildly inconsistent 2025 season. With a 17-13 win-loss record so far, Frances Tiafoe’s run to the ATP Houston final seemed promising, until Jenson Brooksby dismantled him 6-4, 6-2. Then came the Roland Garros, where hopes soared as he reached the QF, only to crash out in four sets against Lorenzo Musetti. The slump didn’t stop there. At the HSBC Championships, Tiafoe fell to 199th seed Daniel Evans in straight sets, an early grass-court wake-up call.

And now, as Wimbledon looms, questions swirl. But 2-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist CoCo Vandeweghe isn’t ready to write him off just yet. Reflecting on Tiafoe’s latest loss against Daniel Evans, she said, “It’s a bit disappointing, but I think we can’t forget the hangover of coming off of a Grand Slam like Roland Garros and then going straight into the grass-court season. There is no time to really feel your feet underneath you and that transition is very different.”

Vandeweghe, who knows the quirks of grass better than most, still sees potential in Tiafoe. “If it was hard to grasp, I think it would be a lot easier. I think Foe just needs to really get as much confidence as he can, as many matches as he can. I don’t think to win another title on grass this year. But I think if he gets enough matches, he can make a second week at Wimbledon easily.”

So, with the lawns of SW19 waiting for the players to come, can Tiafoe shake off the setbacks and find his rhythm? What’s your take on that?