Frances Tiafoe on partner Ayan Broomfield: ‘The key to a very successful man is a strong woman’ | ATP Tour

Racquets and relationships

Tiafoe on partner Broomfield: ‘The key to a very successful man is a strong woman’

US star reflects on Bloomfield’s importance in his life

March 26, 2026

Frances Tiafoe has been a crowd favorite since turning pro in 2015, bringing joy to countless fans around the world with his joie de vivre and competitive spirit. The American will try to take advantage Thursday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium against world No. 2 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open at ETA.

But at the start of the season, Tiafoe wasn’t flying as high as he is now. After losing his final five games in 2025, the Maryland native hired a new staff led by Mark Kovacs and had heart-to-heart conversations with those around him, including longtime partner Ayan Broomfield, whom he met when he was 15.

“I think there are a lot of keys to a very successful man. But I think the most important thing is to have a strong woman in your corner,” Tiafoe told ATPTour.com last month. “A lot of times, it just stops you in your tracks… I think a lot of times when you don’t have that because you’re all over the map, they can pay attention to detail and they paint a picture for you that helps guide you to where you want to go.

“Sometimes they believe in you more than you believe in yourself. That helped me a lot, so a shout out to her.” See all racket and relationship features

From Tiafoe’s journey into the top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings, to two U.S. Open semifinals and his chance to face Sinner in Miami, Broomfield has been on Team USA’s side.

Not every pairing of ATP Tour stars can highlight the highs and lows of incredible victories and devastating defeats quite like Broomfield, who won the 2019 NCAA women’s doubles title with Gabby Andrews while still a student-athlete at UCLA. Broomfield reached No. 680 in the PIF WTA rankings.

“Ayan was good, but then they forgot. They got amnesia and forgot how good they were and started giving you advice as if you were right next to Serena,” Tiafoe said with a laugh. “But seriously, it’s nice to go home and vent, ‘Man, what did you think about this game?’ ‘Cause it’s hard. This sport, it’s hard to really understand it if you’re not actually involved in it. And obviously the lifestyle.

“So she’s been crucial not only to my career, but to my life. She’s very strong. She’s been there for me over the years and it’s been a pleasure to have her and that’s been really important.”

Occasionally, Tiafoe and Broomfield still step onto the court together. But it’s not always a perfect experience.

“Hate it. Hate every second of it. She’ll tell you the same thing,” Tiafoe said with a laugh. “Sometimes I want to hit the ball up and down with her and she wants to play a little bit and cheat on me and boo. But it’s fun to be able to do that if I want to, especially when I’m done and we want to go ahead and have an exo that we can go hit the ball with and joke about because she’s still hitting the ball well. She’s fun, man.”

It’s also important for Tiafoe to support Broomfield as much as she supports him. Not only does Broomfield have a large following of her own and represents multiple brands, but she also gives back to those around her through initiatives such as Ayan’s Aces and the Ayan Broomfield Foundation.

“I’m happy. Super happy for her… It’s good. It’s about her happiness, man,” Tiafoe said. “She’s sacrificed so much to get me to where I am now. Staying with me. It’s great that she’s able to do something that she loves. In this crazy life that we live in right now, it’s great to be able to maximize all this crazy stuff that we’re doing and she finds a business in it while we’re still able to be together on a high note.”