Concerning signs for Frances Tiafoe ahead of Wimbledon as American takes nasty fall, forced to retire mid-match during Queen's Club Championships 1R

Frances Tiafoe took a nasty fall during his first-round encounter at the 2024 Queen's Club Championships. He faced Rinky Hijikata in the first round but had to retire mid-match due to an injury.

Hijikata and Tiafoe had both won a set apiece. The incident happened during the third set, when Hijikata was leading 1-0 (15-0). The American was serving, but he fell down midpoint. He demanded a medical timeout, after which he could not continue much longer and eventually threw in the towel.

This fall could put Tiafoe's Wimbledon participation in jeopardy. According to some reports, he has suffered a hip injury as a result of the fall and could end up missing the glass court slam.

Tiafoe's 2024 season has not been up to the mark, with the American yet to win a title. His ranking has dwindled from his career best of World No. 10 just a year earlier to World No. 28 currently. This season, he has only made it to one final—the Houston Open, where he lost to fellow countryman Ben Shelton—and one semifinal—the Delray Beach Open, where he lost to Tommy Paul.

At both the French Open and Australian Open, the American was defeated in the second round. Additionally, he was unable to advance past the third round in any of the Masters 1000 competitions; his best result came in the Indian Wells Open, where he reached the third round.

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Frances Tiafoe: "Tennis is the hardest sport in the world"

Frances Tiafoe at the 2024 French Open

Frances Tiafoe recently gave his opinion on the toughest sport in the world. According to him, tennis was the toughest sport in the world. To elaborate on his point, he said that tennis had a smaller ball as compared to other sports and also required good hand-eye coordination, among other aspects.

The American also added that the length of the tennis match is undefined, which is a crucial factor. He also said that tennis comprises a lot of uncontrollable moments, which adds to the toughness factor.

"It's the hardest sport in the world. I still think it's the hardest sport in the world. Well A, the ball in comparison to other sports is very small. Your hand-eye [coordination] has to got to be very good. Then there's no clock. You know, it's not a timed sport. When those guys come to watch me, they're like, 'How long is a tennis match?' I'm like: 'I don’t know, you never know. And then you know it's the uncontrollable movements, up and down, side to side. So it's tough and it's just you," Frances Tiafoe said.