Frances Tiafoe Hilariously Fist-Bumps Himself After Roland Garros Mascot Kid Snub

Frances Tiafoe‘s Roland Garros campaign came to an end on Monday (June 1). After winning back-to-back five-set battles versus Hubert Hurkacz and Jaime Faria, he played another five-set match, this time against Matteo Arnaldi in the fourth round, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in five hours and 26 minutes.

But before the match, Tiafoe found himself in an awkward situation. After entering Court Suzanne Lenglen with the mascot kid, Tiafoe stretched his arm for a fist bump with the kid. But the kid, it seemed, did not notice it, and he walked away. Seeing this, Tiafoe simply fist-bumped himself.

Watch the video here

The kid Frances Tiafoe walked out with for his match didn't fist pump him so he does it himself

😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/uY6sbdFZqP

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 1, 2026

Tiafoe, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, was aiming to reach the French Open quarterfinal for the second time (he made the last eight last year). At the Australian Open this year, his run ended in the third round.

Tiafoe hasn’t yet won a title since his victory over Jan-Lennard Struff in the 2023 Stuttgart Open final. Since then, he has lost four finals, including the Mexican Open this year to Flavio Cobolli.

The 28-year-old has never claimed a Big Title, reaching just one final at the 2024 Canadian Open, losing to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Arnaldi now holds a 2-1 head-to-head record over the American ace.

Matteo Arnaldi sets up his quarterfinal clash with Matteo Berrettini after defeating Frances Tiafoe

Three Italian players have reached the quarterfinals of the French Open. Apart from Matteo Arnaldi, Matteo Berrettini, and Flavio Cobolli have also reached the stage. It’s Berrettini whom Arnaldi will be facing in the last eight.

Arnaldi, who has not yet won a singles title, will be playing in his career’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Prior to this event, he made the fourth round of a Major just twice, including once at the French Open in 2024.

I don’t know how I’m standing here, to be honest. We live to play these matches. I always dreamed to play matches like this, at Roland-Garros, at night, in these battles against someone like Frances. I think at one point it wasn’t tennis, it was just something else; you just played with everything you had. There had to be a winner, and fortunately it was me tonight. This is definitely the best match I ever played.

Matteo Arnaldi said during his on-court interview

Berrettini, on the other hand, knocked out Juan Manuel Cerundolo, the 24-year-old Argentine who had upset Jannik Sinner in the second round. The former World No.6 will be meeting Arnaldi for the first time in his career.

When I lost the third set, I was already mentally prepared to go out and win the fourth. This has happened to me many times throughout my career. I knew I had to keep doing exactly the same things that had allowed me to take the lead in the score. I felt that once we entered rallies, I was superior, and that gave me a lot of confidence. I mentally went through all the times I had been in similar situations.

Matteo Berrettini said at the press conference

Berrettini is a former Grand Slam finalist. He reached the title clash of the 2021 Wimbledon, losing the match to Novak Djokovic. The 30-year-old returned to Roland Garros for the first time since 2021 (he lost to Djokovic in the quarterfinals).

Berrettini featured in quite a few clay-court events, including on the Challenger tour. In the tour-level events, he failed to make deep runs. He has so far won 10 singles titles, six of which he lifted on clay. Berrettini last won a title at the 2024 Austrian Open Kitzbuhel against Hugo Gaston, but has yet to reach another title clash since that win.

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