Frances Tiafoe Shares Brutal Assessment of his ‘Mediocre’ 2025 Season so far

Frances Tiafoe crashed out of the Tokyo Open after losing to World No.58 Marton Fucsovics in three sets.

Frances Tiafoe Shares Brutal Assessment of his ‘Mediocre’ 2025 Season so far

Frances Tiafoe (Image via X/US Open Tennis)

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Frances Tiafoe has had a terrible 2025 season by his standards so far. The American star has slipped to World No.29 in the ATP rankings after a poor run of form since the start of the North American hard-court swing. In fact, he has not won a singles match since the US Open and failed to help Team USA qualify for the Davis Cup finals.

By this time last year, Tiafoe had just finished his best North American hard-court campaign of his career. He reached the final of the Cincinnati Open and, in two weeks, got to the semi-finals of the US Open. He was just one set away from reaching his first Grand Slam final before Taylor Fritz rallied from behind to beat him.

At one time this season, he was ranked World No.16 and had a good shot at making the ATP Finals. But he failed to continue his form. His best performances this season came at the French Open, where he stunned the tennis world by reaching the quarter-finals before losing to Lorenzo Musetti.

At the US Open, he was one of the American men’s players tipped to win the championship for the first time since Andy Roddick in 2003. But Tiafoe managed to win just two matches before falling to unseeded and World No.97th Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round of the New York Grand Slam event.

He’s known as Big Foe on the court due to his charismatic and aggressive style of play. But he hasn’t shown that this season. During an interview with Olympics, he revealed that he has been mediocre on the court this season. The American star added that it was hard for him to win four consecutive matches this year:

Mediocre at best. I had some really tough losses, it was hard to get those three or four in a row you need to stay at the top. And I also didn’t have a couple of big results like I usually have every year. I have a chance to finish strong and accomplish some things, but all in all, it’s been a very up-and-down year. A year ago, I was one set away from reaching the US Open final. I think I have to move on from there; I haven’t been playing with enough hunger.

Tiafoe is yet to win a title this season. However, he reached his only final at the Houston Open, the same tournament he finished as a runner-up last year after losing to Ben Shelton in the final. The former World No.10 will hope to get back to form during the Asian swing, as he has to finish the season in the top 30.

Frances Tiafoe motivated to reach Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s level on tour

Frances Tiafoe could not hide his frustration in his opening match at the Tokyo Open as he destroyed his racket on the court. The American star was completely infuriated with his performance as he fell to Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 1-6, 5-7 and had to waste time before shaking hands with the World No.58.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

However, during the aforementioned interview, he revealed that his main target is to get to the level of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on tour. The 27-year-old added that he wants to be the third guy who’s going to compete with Sinner and Alcaraz:

There’s a couple more guys who’ve got to join them. I’m not saying beat them, but there’s got to be (other) guys – and that motivates me. I’m like, yo, who’s that third guy? Who’s that fourth guy? Novak [Djokovic] doesn’t count. He’s 40. I love him, but doesn’t count. He’s 40. He’s a GOAT, he’s the best player of all time. He’s not with those guys.

Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated the men’s circuit for the past two seasons. Novak Djokovic has tried breaking into the rivalry but has struggled against them on the court, particularly in Grand Slam tournaments. Nonetheless, Alcaraz leads Sinner 10-5 in their head-to-head record on tour.

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