American tennis star Frances Tiafoe was seen attending a Kansas City Chiefs game in November with his girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield. The couple caught the attention of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his global superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift. They decided to meet up with Tiafoe and snap some photos following a Chiefs win (against the Broncos) — a moment Tiafoe still can’t believe happened.
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Tiafoe joined Ryan Clark on The Pivot podcast to talk about the experience. After some playful teasing, Clark asked if he ever sat back and realized how far he had come in his career. It’s one thing to perform successfully on the grandest stages in tennis, and another to be recognized by two of the most famous people in the world.
“I’m really out here taking shots with Taylor Swift,” Tiafoe detailed. “I’m going to keep it a buck, I’m a Beyonce guy. But in the moment I was like ‘Man, this is crazy! Like, she’s the biggest star out here.'”
Beyonce fan or not, Tiafoe recognized the once-in-a-lifetime moment he experienced with the global superstars. Swift has entrenched herself as the most popular musical artist in the world. Coming face to face with her and getting to talk had to feel surreal.
But it wasn’t just Swift who wowed Tiafoe. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce also made sure to take good care of him during his visit.
“Then Trav and Mahomes were like, ‘We gotta have you out here in KC.’ Them saying that is wild to me. They rolled out the red carpet for me. It’s crazy because playing tennis and being able to reach that many people — like they want to meet me and hang out and do stuff.”
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It does sound wild to have three of the most popular people in the world asking you to hang out. But every athlete on the rise experiences it. Tiafoe recently made his mark on the tennis scene. Though he’s been playing professionally since 2015, his breakout moment came with a US Open semifinal appearance in 2022, followed by his rise to the ranking of #2 American in the world, which caught the attention of many.
Kelce and Mahomes were among the many. Kelce tweeted during the match “All heart baby! LFG @FTiafoe” accompanied by a US Flag and fire emojis. Mahomes re-tweeted Kelce’s post saying, “Match is insane!”
Match is insane!!! https://t.co/2smsGHM8Q8
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) September 10, 2022
Little did Tiafoe know just two years later he’d be meeting the Chiefs players who took notice of him. A great story that shows if one works hard at what they do, fame and friendships will eventually come.
Maybe you won’t end up meeting Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, but keeping your head down while showing your passion and charisma for what you do can win over fans. Tiafoe has some forever fans in Kelce and Mahomes, but he’s also won over the hearts of Americans everywhere.
Today he ranks 17th on the ATP and had a career-high ranking last year of 10. He’s won three career titles and has just over $13 million in career winnings.
