Frances Tiafoe lights up DC Open with superstar homecoming

WASHINGTON, DC—It takes Frances Tiafoe almost 10 minutes to about 50 feet at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. The DMV native makes multiple stops in the short distance between the press conference room and player area, where he’s asked to sign numerous posters with his face in the center.

In between, he chats with tournament director Mark Ein and takes a phone call from Ben Shelton about whether the pair can be mic’d up for their marquee doubles match on Monday.

For D.C.’s favorite son, it’s all part of an annual homecoming—one that culminates with a trip to the US Open in August.

“It’s just great to be back home. I think people take that for granted,” Tiafoe tells me before Shelton returns his call.

“I know everyone from security and everyone and staff for so long, and everyone's so excited to see me,” he explained earlier in a Media Day press conference, his “Big Foe” chain catching the light. “A lot of ‘I'm proud of you’ and ‘Keep going,’ and kids and stuff.”

On the grounds, Tiafoe Fever is real. One fan walks around with a sandwich board that reads “Frances Tiafoe In Da House!!!”

“I mean, just get bulldozed everywhere I go, which is kind of fun.”

Tiafoe learned the game 30 minutes away in College Park, Maryland, his father part of the crew that quite literally built the Junior Tennis Champions Center. He moved to Boca Raton after over a decade training with brother Franklin at the JTCC—which also developed talents like Hailey Baptiste and Robin Montgomery—and has since gone global, but the DC Open will always be home.

“I love this area wholeheartedly, man,” said Tiafoe, who turned down a trip to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to compete at this tournament last year. “It's shaped me into the person I am today. To be able to see what a tournament has been, to now be the face of the event, you know, it's incredible.

“It's also amazing, you know, helping, seeing more people of color want to watch the game, play the game, be around it, being more knowledgeable about it. We had a few guys before doing amazing things, Arthur Ashe, and kind of want to keep that going, just keep that thing going.”

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The 27-year-old arrives in DC fresh off a first career Roland Garros quarterfinal. On what has historically been his least favorite surface, he blitzed the field in the first week, winning all four matches without dropping a set.

It’s a lot of love for a guy like me, man, who came from such humble beginnings. To have people so excited to see me. I’m very aware of where my feet are, man, and you treat others how you want to be treated. I think people see a lot of genuine attributes in me, and hence, I get a lot of fan love. Frances Tiafoe

“I feel like now I have a shot at all four majors, and so, that did change my mindset,” he tells me. “It made me realize that it doesn’t matter what you have or haven’t done before. I think if you’re ready to go and are in the right mental space, if you’re happy and have the right amount of passion, you can kind of do anything.”

Tiafoe has traditionally used the DC Open as a launch pad the last three summers, channeling the American crowd’s enthusiasm for his particular brand of showmanship into two US Open semifinals and a Masters 1000 final in Cincinnati. Last year, he made his first semifinal at the DC Open. After an earlier-than-expected exit from Wimbledon, Tiafoe is eager for more of the same—and better—in 2025.

“It’s a lot of love for a guy like me, man, who came from such humble beginnings,” he told me in between signatures, speaking in his inimitably affable mumble. “To have people so excited to see me. I’m very aware of where my feet are, man, and you treat others how you want to be treated.

“I think people see a lot of genuine attributes in me, and hence, I get a lot of fan love and…I was about to say shit like that,” he added with a laugh. “I mean, things like that!”

Seeded sixth in the singles event, Tiafoe is undoubtedly the main event for the tournament’s opening night session, partnering Shelton for a doubles match against Aussies John Peers and Matt Ebden on Stadium Court.

“There is a lot of things I've got to do, a lot of people want to see me. I have to call Mark and get 200 tickets,” Tiafoe joked in press. “It is a fun event, man. So many things I'm able to do here that would not fly at any other event, and it's just amazing.

“It's all good things, all good problems.”

A busy afternoon undoubtedly followed for Tiafoe, but his name will echo on loudspeakers across the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in less than 12 hours, and for a player who once had to sneak into this event as a kid, that makes it all worthwhile.