For many, Frances Tiafoe remains one of the sport’s brightest talents, though this season left him frustrated after sliding 12 spots in the ATP rankings. Acknowledging how much went off track, he still leans on belief and determination as he looks toward a stronger comeback. With a new season approaching, he sits down with Andy Roddick to candidly reflect on resetting his game, the state of American men’s tennis, and the path forward.

Big Foe chooses to rebuild his game after the US Open

Frances Tiafoe did not have the season he expected. By his usual standards, the year felt disappointing, and he ended his season early after the Shanghai Masters. He played two months less than most players and finished ranked No. 30 in the world. After the US Open, he appeared in only four matches and has not played a competitive event since losing to Yannick Hanfmann in Shanghai.

He stayed active through exhibitions, facing Taylor Fritz and later defeating Carlos Alcaraz. Still, he knew stepping away from official events meant risking his seeded position at the Australian Open. Despite that risk, he feels confident he made the right choice.

Speaking on Served, he explained his mindset. “The Open this year wasn’t what I hoped for by any means. Then come to Asia, I missed Laver and the Davis Cup wasn’t great. I was like let’s scratch it [the year], get rid of it. It was what it was. In the end I still finished 20 something. But why don’t I choose myself and have a long time as you get ready for new year? Once you finish you have Thanksgiving and then go on vacation and you only have four or five weeks to get ready.”

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He used the time away from competition to focus on the weaknesses he identified throughout 2025. 

He said, “I thought, let’s have a long time to get ready. Get some new habits. It’s really hard to get new habits and change things and work on your game. With a two week event it’s hard to get better as you are always worried about the next match and the next thing.”

For Tiafoe, stepping back was about changing his approach. He wanted to reset mentally and physically. The long break gave him room to rebuild his game without pressure. He emphasized that his priorities are shifting toward bigger goals.

He added, “It was getting in a different mindset and approach. And for me right now the only thing that matters is trying to win majors and be in the position to win majors and be in the top 10 and have a great however many years it may be of prime. That is what the decision was to stop early.”

And while talking about building new habits during the off season, he added, “I think it’s kind of like to even the practice and the work I’ve kind of been doing. I mean,I know I’m gifted with this game. I’ve, had great great ability. I know it comes quite naturally, but you know, there’s days where I’m in and out and and it shows,”

“And I’m totally okay with saying that. There’s days where I’m not feeling and I don’t put in the work. You know, I don’t do it in the days where it’s hard, find a kind of easy way out and rely on my talent. I’ll figure it out. And so kind of just doing the boring things and and monous thing over and over and over and and showing up,”

Tiafoe on managing expectations and outside pressure

Frances Tiafoe went back to the US Open last year with memories of his 2022 breakthrough, when he reached the semifinals and beat four-time champion Rafael Nadal. But even a year later, he could not move past that stage. He once again fell short, losing to Taylor Fritz in the semifinals and extending his struggle to break through to his first Grand Slam final. 

Now 27, he is still seen as one of the strongest American players on the ATP Tour. However, he has never reached a Grand Slam final. This has created expectations and pressure around his performances.

When asked about handling expectations and outside noise, Tiafoe explained that he relies heavily on the guidance of those close to him. He said, “My dad always does a great job of of kind of having me not worry about you know expectations hard not to kind of right in your face.” His father helps him stay grounded and focused, even when the pressure becomes overwhelming.

Tiafoe also shared that he keeps perspective by reminding himself how far he has come. He said, “I mean for me sometimes I like to take myself out of it and I was like you wish you’d be doing some of the things you’re complaining about right? Like you like I wish like I’d be like my morality is someone telling me that when I’m 12 or whatever in the world in the world that like yeah I’m not reaching expectations.”

Later in the podcast, Andy Roddick reminded Tiafoe of a famous Roger Federer quote from the interview Federer gave after Roddick retired: “I just like winning more than I hate losing.” When Roddick asked what Federer meant and whether he related to it, Tiafoe responded, “For me I’m not really think about like better not lose it. But yeah, I just love winning. I love like big moment winning. I love everything about winning and what that you know like that brings out a smile on me but playing.”

He then went deeper into what drives him as a competitor. Tiafoe explained that he simply loves the sport and everything that comes with it. He added, “then on a deeper scale playing the game I love tennis I love playing but winning is like the most exciting thing. That’s when the big a** smile comes out all the reactions all the celebrations that’s what I look forward to you know. I visualize those things a lot.”

Frances Tiafoe discusses US tennis rivalries and his choice between college and turning pro

American men have shone in the ATP rankings, especially in the last three or four years, consistently. Even in this year’s rankings, in the top 30, you have Taylor Fritz (6th), Ben Shelton (9th), Tommy Paul (20th), Learner Tien (28th), and Tiafoe at 30th. 

And while speaking about the rivalry among them, Big Foe added, “It’s weird because like we’re all generally like get on well. We all like good friends, but it’s always kind of had that mentality. Well, if this guy did it, I can definitely do it, right? And then it kind of just and so on so forth. You know, there was, me and Klov (Stefan Kozlov) and then, you know, then Tommy [Paul] these guys started coming and Fritz and then it just kind of kept going and then once and we just kept believing off each other but not really spoken about.”

Later he added, “We just kept believing off each other and then but sometime like I’ve had a conversation with Fritz. I’m like bro like honestly like right after shortly after we play the US Open. ‘Look, bro. Like, growing up, I never thought in my mind I would be playing your a**.”

When Tiafoe and his brother were 5 years old, their father arranged for them to begin training at the JTCC, bypassing their usual fees. 

When Tiafoe was 8 years old, Misha Kouznetsov began coaching him at the center, taking interest in him after seeing his work ethic and interest in the sport. Kouznetsov helped sponsor Tiafoe to play at tournaments as he progressed through the juniors. He continued to coach Tiafoe for nine years until he moved to the USTA National Training Center in Boca Raton, Florida. 

In the later part in the conversation when Roddick asked about if he ever now consider being a collage tennis player with improved structure and he ever wanted to become pro in current scenario, he added, “For me, for me at my at my position, no, I still would have I still would have turned, pro. I was I was I was I was going I was like, man, like you’re like, . I was like, what what are we what are we waiting for? Yeah. I wasn’t trying to be in the classroom either.”

He later added, “I mean, I think going would have been fun, but I was locked in. I was ready to go. So, I was like, let’s do it. But to your point though, like my people was saying like, you know, whatever your college scholarship quote-unquote would be over those 250,000-300,000, like if you’re not getting that, like your a** needs to be going to college, like controversially,”

Tiafoe’s view on men’s tennis after the ‘Big Three’ and rise of the ‘New Two’

Frances Tiafoe reflected on the state of men’s tennis after the era of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. With only Novak Djokovic still competing from the original Big Three, the landscape has shifted. 

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now lead the new generation. They dominate the tour with authority. When asked about this change, Tiafoe noted he had seen this rise coming. He said, “I knew [Jannik] Sinner was going to be really good. I played him in Next Gen like when he first came out. I was like, ‘Man, this guy’s going to be good.’”

Tiafoe then spoke about his early impression of Alcaraz. He said, “Obviously, I played Carlos for the first time when he was 17. I was like, everyone was talking about this guy with Spanish guys. Like, man, like good luck today. This dude’s really good. I was like, I ain’t about to lose a 17-year-old. I got him like five and six. I can walk off the court. I’m like, ‘This dude’s nasty.’” His words reflected respect, but also personal belief.

Tiafoe believes the field is stronger than many assume. He trusts in the depth of the current ATP circuit. He also insists that the dominance of Alcaraz and Sinner is not absolute. He said, “I still believe that Carlos and Jannik are not unbeatable. I have to think that way. Look, I faced Carlos twice; he won those two Grand Slams, and in both matches, we went to a fifth set.” His conviction shows his competitive mindset.

He reflected in depth about those opportunities. “And I still think I missed those opportunities. The match last year at Wimbledon, I believe it’s a match I let slip away. It’s true that at the US Open, I kept myself in the match as best as I could. We were tied at 3 in the fifth set, but I was just hanging on in each set, even in the ones I won. However, at Wimbledon, I felt like I was a set ahead, with a couple of 0-30 on his serves, so…” His analysis showed how close he felt he came.

Tiafoe continued by acknowledging the challenge. “If you ask me: Are these two extremely tough guys to beat? Absolutely. That’s why they win practically every tournament they play in. But, if you tell me that practically the entire circuit has a chance to beat anyone, and that at the end of the week you have to beat two guys… I’d sign up for that.” His confidence remains steady.

He emphasized that he is not taking the new season lightly. After a hard year, he aims to rebuild. His goal is to regain momentum and consistency. The hunger to compete again is clear in his tone.

Tiafoe also understands the value of pressure. Now that he has dropped in the rankings, he feels motivated. He said, “I think it’s easy to get complacent. I have been top 10 for the last four or five years. Now I have got to earn it. You are not high seeds even in the 250, 500s, or Slams. I am around 30 right now, I am going to play a top four or five guy in the third round, so that excites me. It also excites me to have that hunger again and chase it a little bit.” 

He knows challenges will come early in tournaments. But he feels this will sharpen him for the long term. Competing against top players sooner fuels his drive. He wants to rebuild from the ground up.

As the new season approaches, Tiafoe hopes for a reset. New opportunities await. The question now is whether he can rediscover his top form at the start of the 2026 season.