Tiafoe on effect of Serena and Venus Williams in 'predominantly white sport': "I’m looking at my dad, that’s iconic"

Frances Tiafoe recently shared his thoughts on the success of Serena Williams and Venus Williams and how that affected him in his tennis journey.

Tiafoe has always spoken about wanting to leave a legacy behind and he's found inspiration in Serena Williams and Venus Williams. He wants to be remembered in a similar way as he shared how he watched the Wimbledon final between the sisters and how that left a lasting impression on him. He said:

“If Serena and Venus weren’t playing tennis, even with the come up I had like, I’m you know, seven eight years ago watching them play against each other in the Wimbledon final, in a predominantly white sport, I’m looking at my dad, that’s iconic. I’m not saying, I want to be them because they’re one of ones. But I want to be remembered like that. And I think, and when you create that, it’s you know, it’s insane. I mean, it’s it you know you’re forever remembered and that’s what I want."

He continued:

“I want when I’m playing, fans who don’t even know how to keep score or like who just would never watch tennis, but they’re there to watch Frances Tiafoe. I want more people of color to play the game of tennis, obviously. So, make it more accessible and let people know that it is fun. It is fun to go play tennis. So, yeah, that’s a, it’s always emotional topic for me and it’s something really want to, I really want my legacy to be."