Ahead of his US Open semifinal, we take a look at Frances Tiafoe’s twin brother Franklin Tiafoe who is also an impressive tennis player.
American Frances Tiafoe is coming off the biggest wins of his career. On Monday he beat 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the 2022 US Open, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Tiafoe then beat No 9 seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals on Wednesday to make his first major semifinal.
It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for the 26-year-old, and fans want to know about his personal life including his twin brother Franklin Tiafoe.
Frances and his twin brother Franklin’s youth in Maryland
Frances Tiafoe’s parents had an incredible journey from Sierra Leone to Maryland, US. Frances Sr, his father, eventually became the maintenance man at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland, and Frances and his twin brother would often stay with him.
They converted a small office with one window into a room and the two boys lived there for five nights a week for eleven years. It was here where they honed their tennis skills as they enrolled at the center for free.
“Back then, we were so small that we could fit on the massage table side by side,” Franklin said. “My brother and I would talk about our dreams of playing pro tennis while we fell asleep on those massage tables.”
You can read more about their parents and their sacrifices here.
Franklin Tiafoe is also a tennis player
Frances Tiafoe’s twin brother, Franklin, also played tennis, although never to the same standard as Frances.
Franklin, who was born on January 20, 1998, was a standout at DeMatha High School in Maryland. Franklin then played one year of college tennis at Salisbury University but never went pro. “He just wasn’t too interested,” his father told The Post.
Eventually, his parents sent him to Orlando to the USTA National Campus, where he was training at the headquarters of American tennis. However, he often found it difficult being compared to his brother. He was never known as “Franklin Tiafoe” but instead as “Frances’ brother.
In 2021, Franklin Tiafoe joined the Howard University Tennis program as a volunteer coach. He has now decided to start coaching and pursuing his professional development away from the program.
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The brothers are still incredibly close
Frances told The Washington Post about his brother: “We’re really good friends. He’s really supportive of me and I give him advice when I can on his tennis. He pushes me, and I push him. He keeps me grounded, he keeps me humble and he keeps me focused.”
Franklin has been at the US Open this week cheering on Frances and often shares photos of the two together on his Instagram.
He will no doubt be in Frances’ family’s box when he takes on Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals later.