(VIDEO) Frances Tiafoe pretends he forgot racquets again at Indian Wells in hilarious umpire prank
ATP
Frances Tiafoe played a funny prank on the umpire before he lost out to Yosuke Watanuki who in reality had the last laugh it seems as the American was bundled out of Indian Wells after pretending he forgot his racquets again.
Tiafoe was in good spirits again as he arrived on the court placing his bag on the chair and started to rustle around his bag with a bewildered look. He looked around the stadium puzzled holding his hands out confused.
Mohamed Lahyani looked down and asked Tiafoe what was up. He had claimed he'd forgotten his racquets which would've been the second occurrence in as many days. But after a few seconds, he decided to drop the act and let him know he was pranking him.
Albeit Lahyani did see the funny side to it. It is also a reference to him actually forgetting his racquets before he won against Damir Dzumhur on Friday. Both players had to wait for David Witt, Tiafoe's coach for the match to start as he had to deliver his racquets. This before he claimed a straight sets win.
It wasn't to be though this time as he was bundled out by the Japanese player ranked 332 places below him. Watanuki served up 16 aces to Tiafoe's four and hit 47 winners as he seemed very much up to the task. He also saved two sets before prevailing in the tie-break. Tiafoe was sent running throughout the tie and it seems despite the practical joke that it wasn't Tiafoe laughing at the end.
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Almost fooled us 😆@FTiafoe #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/H36kWvKinY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 10, 2025

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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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