"I’ve looked at myself honestly. I know I’m gifted" - Talent still there for Frances Tiafoe to challenge for major titles

Frances Tiafoe has indicated what will make him a top 10 player competing for major titles once more. The American sat down on Served with Andy Roddick to discuss his lack of form after a poor US Open and why it was the time to reset his game.

He has not stepped onto the court for a competitive match since early October, choosing not to participate in the rest of the Asian swing or European hardcourt indoor swing. He has since made a return to action, picking up a brace of wins on the exhibition circuit against Taylor Fritz and world number one Carlos Alcaraz.

This showcases all the work put in, opting not to go on holiday to prepare for a big push in 2026. "Not a whole lot. I’ve just been working," he began. "Honestly, I stopped my season early and really wanted to get to it. I didn’t take a vacation this year. I felt like I’d already had time to rest, and that rest wasn’t really that good for my body. I wanted to take a different approach—sacrifice some things—and really get excited and ready for the new year."

Tiafoe opened up on why he struggles for form following the US Open. "I always struggled in my career after the US Open," he stated. "You’re traveling stadium to stadium, you go to Europe and it gets dark at four o’clock, everything kind of looks the same. You don’t see daylight. Sometimes I struggle with that. You go through the motions because you’re a professional, but if I could go back and do one thing differently, it would be stopping when I wasn’t physically or mentally ready—just stopping. Not forever, just taking time away."

After this year's event at Flushing Meadows, Tiafoe decided not to compete in too many events. Despite at least reaching the quarter-finals in his three prior appearances, he was dumped out in the third round. He followed this up with the Davis Cup, losing both matches against Czech opponents before suffering early exits in the Japan Open and Shanghai Masters.

"Obviously, the Open this year wasn’t what I hoped for at all. I came home, had Laver Cup stuff, Davis Cup wasn’t great, and I was like, 'Alright, let’s scratch it. Let’s just get rid of it,'" the 27-year-old said. "At the end of the day, I still finished top-20-something, whatever. But I thought, why not actually choose myself and give myself a long runway heading into the new year? Once you normally finish, you’ve got Thanksgiving, vacation—by the time you’re back, you only really have four or five weeks to get ready. I wanted a long preparation period to build new habits. It’s really hard to change things or truly work on your game in two-week tournament cycles. You’re always focused on the next match. This was about a different mindset and approach."

"Right now, the only thing that matters is putting myself in position to win majors—to be top 10, to have a great run in what you’d call my prime. That’s what the decision was about," Tiafoe said, confidently. He had previously clambered to a career-high of 10th in the world while making two Grand Slam semi-finals, both times losing in five sets.

Currently, he lies 30th in the world after a slightly underwhelming year. With this brings the prospect of meeting top players earlier in big events. While this may put off some players, this 'excites' Tiafoe a lot. "Very much so. It’s easy to get complacent. I’ve been top 10 for four or five years, and now I have to earn it again," he said. "I’m not a high seed anymore. In 250s, 500s, Slams—you’re playing a top four or five guy in the third round. That excites me. It gives me hunger again. It’s a different seat, but it’s exciting. And it makes every point matter more. You don’t have that luxury anymore. Your foot is to the fire—and I like it."

He knows he has the talent, just got to put the work in to reap the rewards. "I’ve looked at myself honestly. I know I’m gifted. I know the game comes naturally to me. But there are days where I’m in and out, and it shows," he confessed. "There are days where I don’t put in the work—days where it’s hard—and instead I rely on talent and take the easy way out. Now it’s about doing the boring things. Showing up every day to practice, every day in the gym, doing things I don’t necessarily like—and doing them like I love them. I’ve relied on motivation my whole life. Now I want to rely on discipline. Showing up every day—that’s where my mentality is right now."