"Frances Tiafoe's so annoying; Is he supposed to be funny?"- Fans irked by American dismissing French Open in favor of Citi Open

Frances Tiafoe recently joked about not counting the French Open as a Grand Slam ahead of his opening match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C. However, Tiafoe's joke rubbed plenty of tennis fans the wrong way.

Tiafoe is set to start his Mubadala Citi DC Open campaign on Wednesday, 31 July against Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan. The 26-year-old would be aiming to use the ATP 500 event as a platform to improve on what has so far been an underwhelming season, with the only exception being his run to the final of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, where he lost to compatriot Ben Shelton.

Prior to kickstarting his campaign in the capital, Tiafoe interacted with reporters and one of them quizzed the former World No. 10 on where he rates the Mubadala Citi DC Open next to the four prestigious Majors: the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, and the US Open.

In his response, the 2022 US Open semifinalist jokingly said that he considers the Mubadala Citi DC Open to be the "fifth" Grand Slam before suggesting in a tongue-in-cheek manner that the ATP 500 event is the "fourth" Major because he discounts the French Open. Historically, the French Open is the Grand Slam where Tiafoe has performed poorly as compared to his performances at the other Majors.

"It’s (Mubadala Citi DC Open) the fifth one, brother. It’s the fifth one (smiling). It’s probably the fourth one because I don’t really count the French Open, so…," Tiafoe said.

Despite the joking nature of his words, some fans on X (formerly Twitter) were displeased with Tiafoe over his statement. Several of them hit back at the American over what they seemed to perceive as disrespect towards one of the more prestigious events on the tennis calendar:

"He’s so annoying. Is he supposed to be funny ? Show some respect for a Grand Slam," wrote a fan.

"Roland Garros not counting? Remind me that clown comment?" another fan commented.

"Chile how you talking down on a whole slam and you don’t even have a 1000 to your name," another fan chimed in.

Other fans came up with a myriad of reactions to express their disapproval of Tiafoe's comments:

"Americans and their clay phobia lmao," a fan wrote.

"He gets dumber and dumber," commented another fan.

"Talking about the Mubadala Citi Open? This is why he continues to be a flop. He’s never serious. No credibility. Testing to cope," another fan weighed in.

---

Frances Tiafoe courted controversy during his Wimbledon 2024 campaign over 'clowns' comment

Frances Tiafoe playing at the Wimbledon Championships | Getty

Frances Tiafoe reached his career-high ranking of World No. 10 in June 2023. However, his time in the ATP top 10 was short-lived, as a drastic dip in form saw him crash out of several tournaments in the early stages. Right now, the Maryland native is the World No. 29 and recent performances have failed to convince observers that he will be heading back up the rankings.

After his narrow first-round win at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships against Italian Matteo Arnaldi, Tiafoe reflected on his unfortunate change in fortunes within a year's span, before saying that he had been "losing to clowns", though without naming anyone specific.

"It’s brutal. Highs and lows. Think about where I’m at. Literally, this week last year, I was 10 in the world, and now I’m barely seeded here. Losing to clowns, I hate to say it, but I’m just gonna be honest," Tiafoe said during a press conference.

The former World No. 10 would go on to exit the prestigious grasscourt Major in the third round after losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.