Frances Tiafoe surprises University of Louisville student with $30,000 scholarship

CINCINNATI, Ohio—College student Russell Lokko thought he was simply getting a meet-and-greet with Frances Tiafoe, a player he grew up watching, at the Cincinnati Open.

Instead, the rising junior and standout tennis student-athlete at the University of Louisville received the surprise of a lifetime—a $30,000 scholarship over two years through the USTA Foundation’s Frances Tiafoe Fund.

Tiafoe delivered the news—and a giant check—while Lokko was opening a gift bag from the player’s sponsors, including Lululemon, La Roche-Posay and Clif Bar, during a behind-the-scenes experience at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

“I’m super excited, and I’m really blessed that Frances gave me this check,” Lokko said. “It’s going to take a lot off my parents, and it’s going to help me stay focused on what I want to do in college.

“I had no idea that he was going to give me this money… Growing up, Frances has always been a role model for me, so to get it directly from him is unbelievable.”

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The award will help cover the gap in scholarship funding so Lokko can continue his education at Louisville.

Lokko grew up playing tennis at the NJTL of Trenton, a community organization within the USTA Foundation’s National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network—the same network that supported Tiafoe’s early training at the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) in his hometown of College Park, Md.

“To see how ecstatic he was, and being able to take care of his junior and senior year is a huge deal, man,” Tiafoe said. “The son of immigrants… I’ve been in that seat. I know how it is, and the struggle for him to be able to do that.

“If he gets a little push by me, and me being one percent of the reason why he’s gonna become the man he’s gonna be is incredible. That’s why I created this fund within the USTA Foundation, to be able to do great things like that.”

During his visit to the Cincinnati Open, Lokko met Tiafoe, watched his practice, and shadowed him around the tournament grounds—building a mentor-mentee relationship along the way.

“I was super excited about (the idea from USTA), because I get to meet somebody who I know looks up to me and be able to bless him along the way,” Tiafoe said. “It was an incredible experience, and I was even nervous about it today! I wanted everything to go smoothly and in the right way.”

On Saturday night, Lokko capped off the experience in the ultimate way—watching Tiafoe win 6-4, 6-3 under the lights against Roberto Carballes Baena from the best seat in the house: courtside in Tiafoe’s player box alongside his team.

Co-founded in 1969 by Arthur Ashe, Charlie Pasarell, and Sheridan Snyder, the NJTL network is made up of more than 270 organizations nationwide that use tennis and education to prepare young people from under-resourced communities for the challenges and opportunities of life.