“So Embarrassing”: Frances Tiafoe’s Behavior Sparks Outrage After First Round Loss in Tokyo

Even as the other American stars are having the time of their lives on the tennis court, things haven’t been going well for Frances Tiafoe. Last month, he had a disappointing third-round exit at the US Open and then pulled out of the Laver Cup at the last minute. To make matters worse, Tiafoe suffered another shocking defeat as he bowed out of the Japan Open in the round of 32. The American star lost in three sets against Marton Fucsovics to bow out of the tournament. Subsequently, he was involved in a controversial incident, which made the fans angry.

Soon after losing the match point, Tiafoe took a couple of steps toward the net and smashed his racket hard on the court. He kept smashing the racket multiple times in frustration till he completely destroyed it. The incident showed how disappointed Tiafoe was with his performance today, and the clip went viral on social media.

Once among the top American stars on the ATP Tour, Tiafoe now sits in the 29th spot in the ATP rankings chart. The American star has struggled for a major part of this year and reflected on his tough season, saying, “I lost a lot of tough ones, struggled to put matches together like the three, four in a row that you kind of need to sit on top of the game. And I didn’t have a couple of big results that I normally have every year. I have a chance to end strong and put some things together. But ultimately, it’s been a very up-and-down year.”

Thus, it wasn’t a surprise to see Fucsovics dominating the match against Tiafoe today and ultimately coming out victorious. With Tiafoe not used to such situations, frustration took the better of him, and he made his feelings felt by smashing his racket.

Fans stunned as Frances Tiafoe shows his angry side

Meanwhile, fans were visibly shocked to witness this side of Tiafoe. Usually, one could see Tiafoe having fun out there on the court and making others laugh at his jokes. However, it was contrasting emotions this time around, as one fan said, “Smashing your racket like that is so embarrassing. Worse than what lululemon is doing to him with those outfits my god.” The fan wasn’t even happy with Tiafoe’s outfit, designed by Lululemon, the brand Tiafoe began working with this year.

Further, one of the X users questioned how such an incident was accepted on the tennis court. It showed a huge amount of disrespect to the opponent and the sport, something which goes against the sportsman spirit. “Ok, so it’s an accepted tennis thing? If that’s the case, then I’ll watch some meltdown highlights,” a fan said, as he caught a sarcastic look while slamming Tiafoe for his actions. On the other hand, one of the fans couldn’t watch the state of the racket after Tiafoe destroyed it. The fan wrote, “If I had at least one of those rackets, I would’ve resumed training I stopped for months now.” Indeed, Tiafoe could’ve just donated the racket to someone instead of destroying it.

Watching Tiafoe’s meltdown, a fan remembered similar incidents in the past involving the likes of Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. Take the case of Medvedev at the 2025 US Open or Djokovic’s Geneva Open appearance this year, such incidents have not been uncommon on the ATP Tour. Thus, a fan wrote, “The meltdowns are half the fun. Djokovic & Medvedev both have some classics,” as he remembered other incidents involving the top players. Lastly, one of the fans couldn’t believe that Tiafoe was involved in such an incident. “Not a good look for him. So disrespectful,” the fan said, as he strongly objected to the American star’s actions.

Despite the Asian Swing not starting off on a bright note for Tiafoe, he can make up for this early loss with some good performances in the upcoming tournaments. His next singles assignment will be the Rolex Shanghai Masters next month.