Frances Tiafoe has had his eye on a prize for a while now. The American has fought hard but hasn’t managed to clinch a title since Stuttgart in 2023. Now he’s on home soil in Cincinnati, fresh off a tough early exit at Wimbledon. Washington and Canada didn’t go his way, but Cincinnati started on a high. Two straight-set wins carried him into the round of 16. But now, Ohio seems to be serving its own problems.

On August 13, Tiafoe came out blazing against Danish seventh seed Holger Rune. He grabbed an early break and raced to a 3-0 lead. For a moment, it looked like he might run away with it. Rune fought back, leveled the set, and stole the momentum. At 4-all, the Dane broke Tiafoe again, and things quickly turned. The American called for a medic for suspected back pain, but the quick treatment didn’t work right away. Rune then held serve with ease to take the first set 6-4. That’s when it went downhill.

Down 1-3 in the second set, Frances Tiafoe decided to call it quits. His injury left him no choice. The Tennis Letter summed it up on X: “Holger Rune reaches Cincinnati QF as Tiafoe is forced to retire down 6-4, 3-1. Tough way for last year’s finalist to go out… he’ll drop out of the top 15 in the rankings. Hopefully Frances is healthy for the U.S. Open ❤️🩹 10th Masters QF for Holger 🇩🇰” It was a brutal way for the American’s run to end.

This season has been a mixed bag for Tiafoe. He reached the final in Houston but left as runner-up. Keeping his head high, he made a statement at the French Open, reaching the quarterfinals and joining the American charge in Paris. Just two weeks ago, he wrapped up another quarterfinal run in his hometown of Washington. But outside those bright spots, it’s mostly been early exits.

Now, with this new retirement, the outlook isn’t great. Back injuries can be unpredictable, and recovery is never guaranteed. The big question — will Frances Tiafoe be ready before the US Open kicks off on 24 August? Only time will tell.

This isn’t the first time Tiafoe has thrown in the towel during a match, though. Tiafoe previously retired mid-match in 2024 at the Queen’s Club Championships after suffering a hip injury from a nasty fall during his first-round match against Rinky Hijikata.

He was forced to stop playing in the third set due to this injury. Although he came back a month later and made his way to the R3 of the Wimbledon Championships, he was stopped by the eventual champion, Carlos Alcaraz. Now that he’s out of the Cincinnati Open, you’ll have to keep your fingers crossed for the American. Last year, he revealed what he believed ruined his run at the US Open.

Frances Tiafoe on his mistake at the 2024 US Open

At the 2024 US Open, Frances Tiafoe put together one of the best runs of his career, charging into the semifinals. He opened with a win over Aleksandar Kovacevic and advanced past Alexander Shevchenko on a walkover. In round three, he outlasted 2023 semifinalist Ben Shelton in a five-set all-American clash. Then came a win over Alexei Popyrin and a stunning upset of ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov. But the semi was a brutal five-set battle with Taylor Fritz.

Tiafoe cramped, saved a match point, but fell short. Afterward, he revealed the moment he thought the final was his: “Early days in the fourth. I mean, I got good looks, returning well, holding easy early in the fourth. Here we go, two sets to one up, changing. Oh, s—, come out strong, let’s get this fourth done, gonna be in the final. That’s normal thinking, for sure.” In past matches, he said, he’d focused only on the win in front of him, not what came next — and admitted that shift “could play a part in it” too.

Looking back, Tiafoe was blunt: “I mean, the year I’ve had and to be almost in that position, I think I just got ahead of myself. This stinks a bit. Not a bit. This stinks a lot, but I’m gonna learn from it and I will be better going forward, for sure.” It was pure Frances Tiafoe — frustration mixed with fire.

This year’s road to New York has been rougher. With this walkover against Holger Rune, it’s a wonder to think if it could have been avoided? Maybe. Commentators revealed that his team told him to “tough it out” — and he did.

Rune even praised him, telling Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman, “It’s an unfortunate way to end the match, he was hurt, that’s never nice. Frances is a great player, especially in America, he plays very well.” Now the question is — will he dig deep again when the US Open lights come on? Tell us what you think in the comments below!