Match pressure and frustration have finally gotten the worst out of Frances Tiafoe. The American, who many recognize as a happy-go-lucky person, has given in after enduring the nerving expectation of concluding his long-awaited quest at the US Open. However, all his efforts have gone in vain as his journey ends here.

Clashing with Taylor Fritz in hopes of reaching the New York Slam’s title decider, Tiafoe showcased immense resilience. Having battled for four sets and forcing a decider, tennis fans were already furnished with a thriller on Arthur Ashe. What followed though, wasn’t readily expected. Unable to break the No. 12 seed in the fifth set and facing a 0-4 deficit, the American star had enough. As a result, he threw his racket onto the court.

However, he threw his racket out of frustration and not in anger. He did not break it and after throwing it, promptly took it back up and resumed playing. While this was the entire incident, he might now find himself in some trouble from Yonex. The Japanese sports brand sponsors him for his rackets, and as Ben Shelton already told in an interview with BR a few days ago, they fine players for breaking rackets.

“My racket company (Yonex) fines you for every racket you break. I’m gonna say, as a professional, I haven’t broken any,” said Ben Shelton in the interview. While the racket did not break, it is still to be seen if Frances Tiafoe will be fined for his actions or not at the US Open.

However, this is not the first time when he has done something of this sort. There have been some instances when the American superstar has reached his boiling point and the results have been seen on his rackets.

Frances Tiafoe has often broken rackets throughout his career as a pro

It was back in 2023 when team America were taking on the Netherlands in the Davis Cup. Tiafoe, who already lost his first match, played against Tallon Greikspoor in his second match. However, things did not end up well for him. The match which was tight, right from the start till the end had all the emotions.

After losing the first set 6-3, he was resilient to make a comeback in the second set and eventually did. With a score of 7-6(7) in the second set, the match was forced into a decider. However, things took a major U-turn and Tiafoe found himself trailing in the tie-breaker. After going down 5-2 in the tie breaker, Tiafoe reached his saturation point which resulted in a racket smash.

To add more to his misery, he was penalized with a point penalty. This not only led him to lose the set but also the match, making it two loss out of two for him. Thus, there have been instances when the racket break has brought the worst out in Tiafoe. However, this time at the US Open, it was rather a frustrated expression than an act of pure rage. What are your thoughts on this? Did he do the right thing? Please let us know in the comments below!