Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul have withdrawn from the men's doubles event at Wimbledon due to injury issues.
The all-American team of Tiafoe and Paul were expected to face the Australian pairing of Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler at Wimbledon on Friday, July 7. However, Paul sustained a glute strain leading up to the opening match, meaning the duo has pulled out and will be replaced by Marco Cecchinato and Thiago Monteiro.
It would have been Tiafoe and Paul's first men's doubles showing since the Cincinnati Masters in August 2022, when they were eliminated in the first round by Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.
However, Tiafoe will continue at Wimbledon in the singles event, and he explained to reporters after beating Dominic Stricker that the demands and expectations of Wimbledon have already caused some mental strain for him.
"I work super hard, so when I come out here and discuss what I've done and kind of just take every day how it goes. I mean, it's Wimbledon. Like it's already stressful enough. Everyone has expectations like people put expectations on you, everyone has expectations for themselves and the crowd and whatever."
"I'm not going to be here like be a robot. This is not who I am. I'm just going to have fun. Once I get out there, continue to have fun and compete at a high level. That's pretty much it. I feel like guys feel like they have to be the same way 24/7. It's a two-week event. You've got to be able to switch it off and be you. That's just how I go about it, but everybody is different."
Up next for the American is Grigor Dimitrov in the third round, and If Tiafoe can defeat the Bulgarian player, he would equal his best-ever run at Wimbledon following his progression to the fourth round in 2022 before losing to David Goffin.
But, after reaching the US Open semi-final in 2022 and sharing his confidence on grass recently, Tiafoe will be confident of going further in 2023.
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