Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul forced to make Wimbledon withdrawal

Due to an injury, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul have withdrawn from the men’s doubles event at Wimbledon. Their scheduled match against Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler, an Australian pair, on Friday, July 7th, instead went ahead with a pair of new competitors in Marco Cecchinato and Thiago Monteiro.

Paul suffered a glute strain before the first match, forcing the entire duo to withdraw. Cecchinato and Monteiro substituted them in the game against Hijikata and Kubler and subsquently lost 6-2, 6-2.

It would have been Tiafoe and Paul’s first men’s doubles showing since the Cincinnati Masters in August 2022, when Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara eliminated them in the first round.

Tiafoe and Paul are both still competing in the men’s singles competition at Wimbledon with the latter due to take on Jiri Lehecka on Satuday, though this may now be in doubt. Separetely, Tiafoe has shared that the mounting pressure to perform is taking a toll on his mental health.

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This admission sheds light on athletes’ often-overlooked mental strains in pursuing excellence on the court. Despite the challenge, Tiafoe’s preparation will allow him the confidence to compete at a high level during the two-week event.

“I work super hard, so when I come out here and discuss what I have done and kind of just take every day how it goes,” he told beating Dominic Stricker in straight sets. “I mean, it’s Wimbledon. Like it is already stressful enough. Everyone has expectations, like people put expectations on you. Everyone has expectations for themselves and the crowd and whatever.”

“I am not going to be here like a robot. This is not who I am. I’m just going to have fun. Once I get out there, I continue to have fun and compete at a high level. That’s pretty much it. I feel like guys feel like they have to be the same way 24/7. It’s a two-week event. You’ve got to be able to switch it off and be you. That’s just how I go about it, but everybody is different.”

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Tiafoe is scheduled to go head-to-head against the esteemed Grigor Dimitrov in a highly anticipated third round clash at Wimbledon on Saturday. If Tiafoe emerges victorious against the ATP No. 24 ranked competitor, he will tie his previous best performance at Wimbledon in 2022, when he advanced to the fourth round.

However, in that round, Tiafoe was ultimately defeated by the formidable David Goffin.

The 25-year-old American recently expressed his ambition to go further into the tournament, explaining that his elite play on grass is vital to his game. Tiafoe has won two ATP trophies this year, one on grass, validating his confidence.

Additionally, Tiafoe became the first African-American player to rank in the top 10 ATP rankings in 14 years, currently at No. 10. Tiafoe’s ultimate goal is to win Wimbledon after recollecting being inspired by the play of Serena and Venus Williams throughout his childhood.

Their representation of athletes of color in a predominately white sport became the spark that influenced Tiafoe to replicate his trailblazers in the same way for the next generation of African-American tennis players.

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