Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend Ayan Broomfield gets real about dire lack of Black people at Australian Open with strongly-worded message

Frances Tiafoe has been enjoying his girlfriend Ayan Broomfield's support during his quest to win his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open. In addition to cheering on her boyfriend, Broomfield has also used her platform to address the dire lack of diversity at the Melbourne Slam, offering solutions to improve the situation.

Tiafoe made a challenging start to his campaign at the Australian Open, claiming a hard-fought 7-6(2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-3 victory over Arthur Rinderknech after a grueling four-hour and eight-minute battle.

While supporting Frances Tiafoe during the match, Ayan Broomfield observed the glaring lack of Black people and women at the Melbourne Slam, which she shared on TikTok. As responses poured in, Broomfield, a Canadian tennis player currently inactive on the tour, disclosed that people cited difficulty in securing tickets, the intense heat, a sense of not belonging, and uncertainty about who to cheer for.

"I just made a TikTok about how I was at the Australian Open. I was there to watch my boyfriend play and I really didn't see any other women or people of color. In specific, Black people, but people of color nonetheless," Broomfield said.

To address the issues, the 27-year-old offered to help secure tickets for fans who reached out to her on social media. However, she admitted she could do nothing about the heat, humorously confessing that she was "dying" during Frances Tiafoe's opening match.

Ayan Broomfield then addressed the Black people who felt they didn't belong at tennis tournaments and emphasized that the only way to make this better was to show up and claim space, asserting that "representation matters."

"To the people that were commenting that, 'We don't feel like we belong at tennis tournaments or we don't feel comfortable when we are there.' I'm not going to speak on it in this video, but I do understand what you're saying. What I will say though is, if we don't keep taking up space and showing up, it's never going to get better," Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend said.

"So, my advice is that we continue to come and we continue to be present and we continue to put ourselves in these rooms, so at some point we do start to feel comfortable. That's probably why I made this TikTok in the first place because representation matters and the more you see yourself in these rooms, in these positions, the more comfortable you will feel," she added.

Broomfield also shed light on the Black stars in action at the Australian Open for those who were uncertain of which players to support, lavishing praise on her boyfriend Frances Tiafoe, Coco Gauff, and Naomi Osaka. She also highlighted players like Gael Monfils, Arthur Fils, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Madison Keys, Ben Shelton, and Destanee Aiava.

"And lastly, if you do not know who to come and support, I'll give you a little bit of a rundown on the Black tennis players that are in Australian Open this year, just off the top of my head. This is Frances Tiafoe, he's an American tennis player, he's super fun to watch. He's also my boyfriend, but no favoritism here," she said.

"This is Coco Gauff, she is this young American superstar, she won the US Open, like she's killing it. Definitely check her out. This is Naomi Osaka, she is incredible. She's won like four Grand Slams," she added.

Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend Ayan Broomfield: "My goal for 2025 was to bring more of my community to the events"

Frances Tiafoe with his girlfriend Ayan Broomfield - Source: Getty

Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield, further disclosed that her goal for 2025 was to encourage more members of the Black community to attend tennis events as she continued to travel with the World No. 16.

Broomfield also expressed her intention to create an informative series aimed at educating Black people about the tennis tour and the events they could attend, whether to watch the sport or simply enjoy a day out.

"All in all, I travel with my boyfriend about 80% of the year, so I'm at a bunch of tournaments and my goal for 2025 was to bring more of my community to the events," Broomfield said.

"Whether it's playing or supporting as fans or even just to come and experience tennis tournaments, have a drink, have a laugh, dress up, do what you want to do. So, that is my goal and I may make a series to inform you guys a little bit more about the tour and the different tournaments and the things you can do and the people to follow," she added.

Ayan Broomfield will hope to see more Black fans in the audience when she returns to the Australian Open to support Frances Tiafoe as he squares off against Fabian Marozsan in the second round.