Frances Tiafoe supports young tennis players' careers while still building his own

Frances Tiafoe may still be waiting for his first Grand Slam championship, but the up-and-coming American tennis star has already celebrated a meaningful career milestone.

His Frances Tiafoe Fund, which supports tennis programs for young people in underresourced communities, recently passed $1 million in funds raised, only three years after its launch. It’s unusual for athletes to start nonprofits early in their careers, but the 28-year-old says he didn’t want to wait to start giving back because his impact would be greater now.

“I think young players will know me more now,” Tiafoe told The Associated Press. “While I’m at my ‘peak’ and doing things on a high level, I wanted to inspire, to give back. I wanted to be a man of the people because I was given so much.”

Tiafoe, who made his third trip in the past five years to the U.S. Open semifinals this summer, first started playing tennis when he was 4 years old at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland. His father was the center’s head of maintenance after immigrating from Sierra Leone in 1996.

“I’m just a kid who got a chance,” said Tiafoe, adding that the support he received from his team at an early age was critical to his success.

“It helped me believe it before I actually did it,” he said. “You’ve got to have a big support system. You’ve got to have people who believe in the vision before you do, who see you in a bigger place than you do so that they continue to push you. They hold you to a certain standard so you’re able to go to work every day with an approach in hand.”

Ginny Ehrlich, CEO of the USTA Foundation, the United States Tennis Association’s charitable arm which administers Tiafoe's fund, said Tiafoe is not just “one of the few players” who started a fund while still an active player, but is also hands-on in where and how its donations are made.

“He is so passionate about wanting to give back,” she said, adding he wants young people who are growing up in situations similar to his to “have that same access and opportunity.”

The Tiafoe Fund provides college scholarships, as well as smaller grants to help individual players get ready for playing collegiate tennis, Ehrlich said. The fund also supports young players so they can pay for travel, equipment and training they would otherwise not be able to afford. And Tiafoe also supports programs at some tennis centers, including the Maryland center where he got his start.

“It’s so electric to have someone who walks the talk, right?” Ehrlich said. “It’s priceless, really, in terms of his impact. I don’t mean impact in dollars, I mean impact on inspiring the next generation to achieve whatever their dreams are.”

Tiafoe said he is proud to be able to help in these ways, especially in a time where scholarships for tennis players are harder to come by as athletic departments prioritize money-generating sports like football and basketball.

“College is becoming the Wild, Wild West for sure,” he said. “But I think they’re still stages for guys to give back and help.”

Jade Flores, a freshman at Allegheny College, received a scholarship from the Tiafoe Fund and also got the chance to practice with Tiafoe during this year’s U.S. Open.

“I was a bit nervous to meet him at first – it’s Frances Tiafoe,” Flores said after the session. “But he makes you feel like he’s known you forever.”

Tiafoe said he wants to keep expanding the Tiafoe Fund as much as he can.

“Let’s just keep pushing and see where it goes,” he said. “There’s always gonna be another kid to help. There’s always going to be another club to bless. There’s gonna be a kid to take to college. So I don’t want to put the caps on it.”

_____

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy .