EXCLUSIVE | PART 2: Frances Tiafoe chats to Sport24

Sport24 asked: What did it mean to win the Arthur Ashe award in 2020?

Frances Tiafoe: Winning the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Awardwas really big and I was extremely happy about it. The day I won it I was with my girlfriend Ayan Broomfield (who is a fellow professional tennis player). At the time she said to me, “What are you going to do with such a big platform? You need to speak out and this is the time to do it.” I was trying to figure out what we could do to push the message forward. We both came up with the idea of a video after what happened with Michael Brown. We wanted to do a small gesture to spread awareness of the unjust deaths of many African American citizens. (In the video, Tiafoe and Broomfield put their rackets down and hands up - signalling not to shoot - along with other tennis personalities past and present). The video (which includes the likes of Serena Williams, James Blake, Naomi Osaka and Katrina Adams) got plenty of traction and a lot of love. For me, that’s what it’s about. It’s nice when everyone is on the same page and is supportive of each other. For me, it’s about trying to uplift the people on your right and left no matter what they look like. In terms of future initiatives, I want to work on representation and help the next generation because that’s what it’s about. We are only here for a certain time and our job is to use our platform to help the generation behind us. Starting a foundation and talking to schools is the way to go because being in front of guys that can relate to you can help spread your message. As someone in my position, I can understand what young African Americans are going through and can help them and expose them to certain things they wouldn’t necessarily see. A lot of