"Such a rude thing to say about your coworkers";"The disrespect" - Fans incensed by Frances Tiafoe's 'losing to clowns' remark after Wimbledon 1R win

Frances Tiafoe's remark about "losing to clowns' while reflecting on his poor run of form has sparked outrage among tennis fans. The American made the controversial comment after his first-round win at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.

Taking on Matteo Arnaldi in his opening match at the grasscourt Major, Tiafoe found himself on the brink of registering yet another early exit in his less-than-ideal season. However, the American displayed his resilience as he battled back from two sets down to claim a hard-fought 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 victory.

While discussing mental health issues in men's tennis after his win, the World No. 29 candidly spoke about his own "brutal" experience with enduring the highs and lows in the sport. He also reflected on his drop in the rankings and lamented about "losing to clowns" during his slump.

"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 (at Wimbledon). Losing to clowns, I hate to say it but I’m just gonna be honest," Frances Tiafoe said.

"I took the game for granted and got a little too comfortable. You stop having fun with it and you find yourself in a weird position. Then you kind of forget what you were doing to win?" he added.

Frances Tiafoe expressing regret over "losing to clowns" did not sit well with tennis fans, many of whom lambasted the American for being "rude" and "disrespectful" to his fellow players.

"This is such a rude thing to say about your coworkers," one fan commented.

"Wow the disrespect towards his colleagues," another fan chimed in.

"When you lose to a lower ranked player you should reflect on yourself, not put down the opponent. The ones at the top will never have this type of mindset," said another.

Several fans also contended that Tiafoe's win over an "injured" Rafael Nadal at the 2022 US Open had given him a false sense of confidence regarding his abilities.

"Man beat an injured Nadal at US Open and let it get to his head," one fan posted.

"Beating a physically compromised Nadal really gave Frances a false sense of confidence because buddy…," another fan wrote.

""Losing to clowns" -- clearly has an ego issue when his biggest performance was beating an injured Nadal at USO and taking an 18 year old Alcaraz to 5 sets. Dude hasn't even won a 500. People with such a mentality usually don't win much anyway. I guess he'll end his career with some ATP 500 in the best case," said yet another.

Others, meanwhile, highlighted the irony of Frances Tiafoe calling other players clowns when he has yet to win any big titles in the sport.

"Frances CLOWNFOE looked past himself to call others clowns; the irony," a fan wrote.

"It's ironic that a person who has never won a major tournament in his life, let alone a Masters or Grand Slam, and is in the red this year, calls someone a clown," another fan posted.

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Frances Tiafoe to take on Borna Coric in Wimbledon 2R

Frances Tiafoe (Source: Getty)

Following his hard-fought win over Matteo Arnaldi, Frances Tiafoe will square off against Borna Coric in the second round of Wimbledon. Coric claimed a commanding 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 win over Felipe Alves to book his place against the American.

Although the duo stand level at 1-1 in their head-to-head record, Tiafoe secured a 6-3, 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-3 win over the Croatian in their most recent encounter at the 2024 Australian Open.

If Frances Tiafoe emerges victorious against Borna Coric, he will face a formidable challenge against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Aleksandar Vukic in the third round.