Why did Frances Tiafoe’s parents move to the USA? Where is he originally from?

Frances Tiafoe's parents Constant Tiafoe and Alphina Kamara were forced to migrate to the USA, fleeing civil war in Sierra Leon.

Why did Frances Tiafoe’s parents move to the USA? Where is he originally from?

Frances Tiafoe with his family (Image via Instagram)

Frances Tiafoe is one of the upcoming stars from the US Tennis program with the American consistently putting in performances across surfaces. One of the busiest players on the Tour playing week in and week out to develop his game, Tiafoe continues rising in rankings. Having started slow, he is currently regarded among the best contemporary American tennis pros.

Born on January 20, 1998, Frances Tiafoe picked up the racket for the first time at age 4 and has not let it go since then as his passion for the game saw him turn Pro in 2015. A right-handed player with a two-handed backhand, Tiafoe’s first ATP title came in Delray Beach back in 2018. However, all was not smooth sailing for Tiafoe and his parents.

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Tiafoe’s parents, father Constant Tiafoe (Frances Sr.) and mother Alphina Kamara, were both migrants who had escaped from Sierra Leone due to the war in the country. Aphina picked up a job as a nurse while Constant worked as a day laborer on a construction crew that built the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland.

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I'm a son of immigrants, as both my parents grew up in Seirra Leone, before they came to the States. They met here, had me and my twin brother. My dad, being a maintenance worker at a club, helped to build a club ’99. My mom being a nurse, working two jobs, working overtime through the nights.
Frances Tiafoe said after advancing to the semifinal of US Open 2022

Tiafoe’s picking of the tennis racket early in his life was both out of passion and necessity. While he had the big examples of Venus and Serena Williams who were the biggest forces on the Tour while he was growing up, his family’s condition was also not good.

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The early struggles of Frances Tiafoe’s parents

Constant was offered a job as on-site custodian for the newly created Tennis Center and provided a roof as well for the family where Frances and his twin brother Franklin lived. The young Tiafoes picked up the racket at the facility and eventually worked their way to making a career out of it.

My dad helped build a tennis academy. Once the tennis academy was built, he became the head maintenance guy. My dad lived at the tennis center. So, with all those kind of things, it allowed me and my twin brother to be there for free.
Frances Tiafoe said on The Old Man And The Three podcast

With Frances turning pro in 2015 and being able to provide for the family, his parents are now on the Tour with him cheering for him from the players’ box. The star continues to put in the hard work and attempts to rise in the rankings while looking for trophies on the Tour.

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