Eleventh seed has turned the 2026 US Open into another New York homecoming. He opened with a five-set grind past Martin Damm Jr, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, then beat qualifier Rei Sakamoto 6-3, 7-6, 7-5 and No. 22 Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. The statement win came in the fourth round, when he took out former US Open champion and No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (6) at Louis Armstrong Stadium and stretched his career record there to 10-0.
On Tuesday, he went further. Two sets and a break down against fellow American , Tiafoe fought back 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in four hours and 38 minutes to reach a third semifinal. He next faces No. 8 Ben Shelton. The tennis has drawn the headlines. So has the woman in his box.
Frances Tiafoe’s longtime partner is Ayan Broomfield, a Toronto-born content creator, fashion influencer and former collegiate tennis player. She won the 2019 NCAA Division I women’s doubles title at after starting college at Clemson, and she peaked at No. 680 on the WTA singles list.
The couple began dating around 2015 and went public in 2018. They marked 11 years together during this fortnight in New York.
Broomfield is a regular in Tiafoe’s player box. She also worked as a tennis body double for Saniyya Sidney, who played Venus Williams in the 2021 film King Richard. Off court, she has used her platform to push for more diversity in tennis.
During this , Ayan Broomfield posted a joking hotel-room video of herself in bed as Tiafoe left for a match. The caption read: “Saying goodbye to my man knowing he has to play at the US Open for five hours meanwhile I have a 45 second cutesy grwm to edit.” Tiafoe replied in the comments: “You stupid as hell…” The clip exploded. The relationship behind it is not a punchline to him.
Frances Tiafoe was born in Maryland to Constant “Frances Sr.” Tiafoe and Alphina Kamara, who fled Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990s. His father later became head of maintenance at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park. His mother worked as a nurse. He has a twin brother, Franklin. Tiafoe is an American citizen with Sierra Leonean heritage. Friday’s all-American semifinal against Shelton will test that claim. Broomfield will be in the box again.
