America’s ATP star Frances Tiafoe surprised all with his sudden decision. Attending the Atlanta Open, Tiafoe opted out of the Paris Olympics to prepare for the US Open. After he reached Atlanta’s quarterfinals, his new coach caught a lot of spotlight as Tiafoe is now being guided by Jessica Pegula’s former coach. But, why did Tiafoe partner with a new coach recently?

Tiafoe defeated Aslan Karatsev yesterday in the Round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals against Yoshihito Nishioka in the 2024 Atlanta Open. Last year in December, Tiafoe announced that he parted ways with his former coach Wayne Ferreira after three years and began working with Diego Moyano. However, things didn’t work out as he planned with Moyano, and Tiafoe decide to bring in Venus Williams’ and Pegula’s former coach David Witt. A reliable Tiafoe fan shared the news on its X platform and wrote, “David Witt is in Tiafoe’s box at the #atlantaopen his new coach! @TennisUpdates24.”

Speaking about his new partnership, Tiafoe said how his recent win made him call Witt and begin this partnership. “He’s the man, I called him right after I played at Wimbledon and I was like, ‘bro, you wanna do something? You’re a free agent right now and so am I. So let’s do something; let’s try to have a good partnership.” 

Tiafoe mentioned how Witt worked well with Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula before they parted ways earlier this year. “He did really well with Venus (Williams) and Jess (Pegula); some unbelievable years with [them]. I was trying to find a coach for a little bit and it wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be. He’s super chill and so am I. So I was like, ‘let’s do it.’ So it worked out well. So far he’s got one win with me, so it’s good,” Tiafoe said.

While Tiafoe’s current performance has brought a lot of expectation among people, this American ATP star is looking forward to enjoying his game. More than being pressured into playing well, Tiafoe wishes to get the crowd to smile.

Frances Tiafoe is “trying to not put too much pressure” on himself

Despite his selection for the Team USA for the Paris Olympics, Tiafoe opted out of it prioritizing the upcoming US Open. However, he is not opting out of professional tennis as he looks to go far in Atlanta. Now in the quarterfinals of the hard court tournament, people are expecting something great from the American tennis player, but he is focused on enjoying himself and putting on a great show.

“I’m trying to not put too much pressure on myself–not feeling like I need to do so well or [have high] expectations, Honestly, just go out there and enjoy myself and get the crowd crowd going, smile and enjoy week to week. Results are gonna come as they will; don’t force the issue. I think that’s the biggest thing–I got lost in expectations. Just try to have fun; [the result] will take care of itself,” he said.

Tiafoe’s latest coach might bring him the luck he has been looking for. His grounded and happy attitude assures that he is surely here to stay longer and achieve more feats in the future. Can he break past his own issues?