Frances Tiafoe started his professional career in tennis at the age of 17, in 2015. The talented American was soon touted as a name for the future. However, a bit of a rough patch in the last few months has faltered his rise in the sport. He has now hired a former top-10 player to be part of his coaching team to get back on track.
Great news! Happy to announce that I am adding a new member to my team – former ATP Top 10 player, Wayne Ferreira #atptour #bigfoeonthecomeup #BigTruss
— Frances Tiafoe (@FTiafoe) February 28, 2020
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Tiafoe broke into the top-50 of the ATP World Rankings in the latter half of 2018. However, he has struggled to maintain his ranking this year, dropping out of the top-50 in January. It has only gotten worse since then. Currently, Frances sits on the No. 82 spot.
The American has already put a plan into motion to halt his tumble down the rankings. He has added some steel to his coaching team by hiring Wayne Ferreira to work alongside his current coach Zack Evenden.
Frances Tiafoe looks to Ferreira for inspiration
Ferriera is a former top-10 player, who played professionally between 1989-2005. A very talented player, Wayne reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 in 1995.
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The South African made the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 1992 and the quarter-finals of the US Open the same year. He also reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1994.
Interestingly, he occupies the fourth spot on the list of most consecutive Grand Slam appearances in men’s tennis. Feliciano Lopez, Roger Federer, and Fernando Verdasco are the only men with more consecutive appearances. Ferreira will soon be seen in Tiafoe’s box, as the American looks to overturn his fortunes.
What makes this pairing fascinating, is the fact that Ferreira played his breakthrough season in 1992, at the age of 21. This is perfect for Tiafoe, 22, to get the experience on board to enable him to realize his potential.
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The American has all the talent in the world but seems to be struggling to manifest it in the right way. At 22, he has time on his side to learn and grow as a player, and Wayne will give him just that.
Frances Tiafoe has a win/loss record of 2/4 this year, on the ATP Tour. He will be hopeful of Ferriera making an instant impact as he looks to arrest his poor form.