Frances Tiafoe has become the first African American male player to enter the ATP Top 10 in 14 years.
Tiafoe broke into the men's Top 10 rankings spot after he won the Stuttgart Open final, bouncing back from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff in a thrilling match to conclude the tournament. The American player entered the competition as the 12th ranked player in the ATP but the victory helped him move up to number 10 and just two places behind compatriot Taylor Fritz.
Due to his recent success, Tiafoe is the first African American player to reach the top 10 since James Blake achieved the feat in January 2009. Speaking after the triumph and reflecting on his accomplishment, Tiafoe couldn't hold back his joy at breaking into the top 10 for the first time in his career.
“Super emotional. Super emotional for a guy like me with my story and everything,[I am] a guy who shouldn't even really be here doing half the things he's doing. And now when you say his name, you can say he's Top 10 in the world. So [that is] something that no one can take from you and I'm going to remember that forever. And hopefully, I can ride that for a long time.”
In addition, the 25-year-old reached another personal milestone with the win in Stuttgart as it was Tiafoe's first-ever tournament win on grass. Next up for the American is entry into Queen's, where he will face Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round and hope to build on his recent success.
However, the new top 10 entrant will be hoping to bring winning momentum into the 2023 Wimbledon in a bid to improve on his Grand Slam record. So far in his career, Tiafoe has reached one quarter-final and one semi-final in all Grand Slams since 2015.
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