Frances Tiafoe lost for words as Indian Wells opponent snubs handshake after hilarious racket mishap

Frances Tiafoe was left confused after his opponent, Damir Dzumhur, unwittingly snubbed his handshake after the American informed his opponent that he had forgotten his rackets in the locker room. The hilarious incident occurred right before their second round match at the BNP Paris Open in Indian Wells on Saturday, March 8.

Tiafoe had walked onto the court confidently, only to realize later that he had left his rackets in the locker room. He looked around in despair as a member of his coaching staff ran into the locker room to retrieve his rackets.

Tiafoe walked up to Bosnia’s Dzumhur and explained the reason for the delay and offered him a handshake.

Dzumhur, though, didn’t notice Tiafoe’s extended arm and made his way back to his chair, much to the American’s amusement. Tiafoe took to Instagram a day after his match to reflect on the incident and captioned his Instagram story:

“I don’t know what had me more sick forgetting my rackets or buddy leaving me hanging 🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️😂😂 My coach needs to head to @nfl combine I’ve never seen him move like that 😂”

Screengrab of Frances Tiafoe's Instagram story. Source: Indstagram @bigfoe1998

It was smooth sailing for Tiafoe as he earned a solid win against Dzumhur in the season’s first Masters 1000 tournament. He battled past the Bosnian 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) to advance to the third round of the Indian Wells Masters and will next face another qualifier in Yosuke Watanuki.

The Japanese will be a tough opponent as he got the better of former World No. 17 Alexander Bublik and 19th seed Tomas Machac to advance to the third round. This will be an important match for Frances Tiafoe as he looks to gain momentum.

The American, ranked 17 in the world, has not won two consecutive matches in his four tournaments this year and will want to erase that stat at Indian Wells. He faces Watanuki in the third round on Monday, March 10.

Frances Tiafoe swoons over girlfriend Ayan Broomfield’s stunning look for Elton John’s party

Frances Tiafoe with his partner Ayan Broomfield at the 2024 New York Fashion Week. Source: Getty

Frances Tiafoe could not help but gush over his girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield’s stunning look for Elton John’s Oscar party last week. Broomfield wore a stunning silver Tom Ford dress, which was complimented by a golden bracelet, bangles, earrings and silver stilettos.

Broomfield shared a series of pictures on Instagram, and Tiafoe, who has been in a relationship with her since 2015, re-shared the post with an adorable three-emoji reply that read:

"💗💗💗"

Screengrab of Frances Tiafoe's Instagram story (@bigfoe1998)

Interestingly, Broomfield was also a tennis player and won a couple of ITF titles in 2014-2015. Tiafoe, who is seeded 16th at the Indian Wells Masters, has also entered his name in the doubles draw alongside Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo.