Frances Tiafoe might not be the best tennis player on the tour, but his larger-than-life attitude is a huge reason behind his massive fan following. Since becoming a pro, Tiafoe has captivated the tennis community with both on-court genius and off-court eccentricities. He even claims to have an alter ego – “Big Foe”. But what are the origins of this nickname that was given to him by his friends?
In an appearance on GQ Sports’ “Essentials” series, Frances Tiafoe displayed a chain as one of the 10 things that he couldn’t live without. The same chain had “Big Foe” written on it. Deep-diving into the same, Tiafoe revealed that his childhood friends started calling him “Big Foe” when he expressed his desire of wanting to play for the Georgia Bulldogs in college.
“The nickname came out through friends when I was younger, talking about potentially going to college and if we played for the Georgia Bulldogs. And my friend like made a joke, dude, like they would call you Big Foe [hoots] like you know how they’re dogs. So, and then kind of stuck. And then he kept calling me Big Foe, and then I came up with the hashtag ‘Big Foe on the come up’ and then kind of just left it at that,” Tiafoe explained.
Apart from the Maryland native using this nickname as a great strategy to market himself, he also uses this “alter ego” as a mentality to be fun and energetic.
“I was like, why don’t we just use it as kind of my alter ego? When I’m out there, I’m Big Foe competing. Big Foe is kind of a lifestyle thing. It’s just about doing everything you do with style, be fun out there, and be energetic. So yeah, that’s what Big Foe is,” Tiafoe said in an interview with UTS.
Tiafoe’s fierce competitiveness coupled with a jolly personality makes him an extremely likable character. Hence, fellow American players such as Ben Shelton, Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, and Tommy Paul keep lauding Frances for keeping the locker room always spirited.
Amidst subpar form, Frances Tiafoe talks about being humble
Frances Tiafoe is having one of his worst performing seasons since becoming a household name on the tour. With the virtue of an 11-11 YTD, he even tumbled several spots on the ranking – from #16 at the start of the year to #26 (as of May end).
Tiafoe was knocked out of the French Open 2024 on Thursday, losing to Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in the second round in 4 sets – 7-6 (4), 4-6, 2-6, 4-6. The American had begun the tournament well by showing a lot of resilience in his opening-round clash against Italy’s Mattia Bellucci, by winning a 5-set match – 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Frances took to Instagram recently and revealed his mentality he takes onto the tennis court. Apart from sharing a series of photos from the encounter on Court 6, he also captioned the post:
Nothing good comes easy….. round 1✅. See y’all again tomorrow ✊✊✊. #godspeed #humble&hungry #darkhorse
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Frances Tiafoe will have an opportunity to redeem himself in the upcoming grass season, which includes the Wimbledon 2024 Championships. He could use the extra time he has got now to rejuvenate and rethink his strategies to have a better second half of the season.
