Frances Tiafoe: My Letter To Arthur Ashe | ATP Tour

Dear Arthur,

I did not have much growing up. My parents are both immigrants from Sierra Leone. My dad was a janitor at a tennis facility in Maryland, and I was lucky to be around the sport from a young age, even if I did not have the money or opportunities a lot of other kids did. None of that stopped me from dreaming big. I pushed myself to the limit every day with a big smile on my face.

Here I am, 22 years old, and I just found out that I won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award. That little kid with big dreams now has his name associated with yours. That is insane.

But I know this is not just an award. It is a tremendous honor and a massive responsibility. I am not just that smiley kid on the rise anymore. I know I need to carry the torch and make a difference in the world.

This year my girlfriend and I made a video called, “Racquets Down, Hands Up” to try to spread awareness about unjust deaths of African-Americans in the United States. We were able to get a lot of Black tennis players involved, from Serena Williams and Coco Gauff to Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

I wanted people to know that everybody matters. It does not matter who you are, where you come from or what the color of your skin is. Everybody has the opportunity to be something special. I was one of those kids who did not have a great chance of making it this far. Winning this award is just a reminder that now that I’m here, I need to pay it forward and help the next generation.

Frances Tiafoe” />

I wasn’t lucky enough to be around when you were doing your thing, but I know you were so much bigger than tennis. Honestly, you could have been the President! Something you once said always sticks with me: “From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.”

I mean damn, that is deep. Nothing you ever did was about you. You were just trying to be a person first and an athlete second. It was always about helping others. That is truly inspirational.

One of the craziest things about you is that everyone knows all the work you put in to make the world a better place. But you won Grand Slams, bro! I wish I could just pick your brain to find out how you were able to be as successful as you were on court while still being a great humanitarian.

I know balancing both is not easy, especially with eyes on you. One of the biggest things I have learned is you cannot try to achieve other people’s expectations. You just have to strive to be the best…