Frances Tiafoe: I want to ‘inspire people’

Tiafoe is currently ranked 17th in the world. At the time of writing, he’s competing in the Shanghai Masters, one of two Masters tournaments left on the calendar along with 28 October to 3 November in Paris, before the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.

The American is 14th in the race for the eight-man event in Turin. While some might consider him an outsider for what would be his first Finals appearance, he likes his chances.

Not to mention being fired up for it.

“Hell yeah! I’ve never really had the chance to be this close. I’m 14 in the race and I’m like, why not? You see how things shake up, see how guy’s bodies feel, one tournament at a time.

“I’m playing every game and I’m definitely going for it. That would be the icing on the cake. If I made Turin, that would be pretty dope.”

While Tiafoe hopes to be in Turin the week of 10-17 November, he has his sights set far beyond that.

“I want to be on top of the game. I want to win majors, I want to be in the top three, top five and at that point, why not No. 1?

“But my real goal is to win a major. Let the rankings fall where they may but I want to be on the top of the game for a while and be in a position where I’m competing for Slams and Masters Series for the next five or six years for sure.

“I’m 27 on top of the year. That’s kind of my goal but ultimately, to use my success to inspire people to do something special in their life.”

Tiafoe appeared at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 but he opted not to play for Team USA at Paris 2024, citing the surface and schedule among reasons. Skipping the Games has also allowed him to stay relatively fresh for the stretch run of the year while those who went, like Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, appeared to hit a wall afterwards.

Tiafoe stands by his decision to pass on Paris but did admit he missed donning the red, white, and blue alongside America’s Olympic greats like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Sha’carri Richardson.

“Like I’m [watching] in Atlanta, I’m seeing them on the boat, bro. You got Bron, KD – I mean these are my guys. KD and Steph (Curry) I know really well, Bron obviously tweeted at me a couple of times. It would have been cool to hang out with those guys.

“A’ja Wilson, all the runners man – Sha’Carri to Gabby Thomas and everybody. We have so many amazing Olympic athletes. It sucked to not be there, but to see how I ended the summer myself, I think I made the right decision.”