Frances Tiafoe has had a torrid 2024 thus far, and things were not set to get any easier going into the grass-court season.
It is a surface notorious for the various tumbles it causes, with its unpredictable footing and slipperiness often leaving players sprawled out on the turf.
So, when the American travelled to Queen’s, desperately out of form, the last thing he would have wanted was to suffer from a fall.
But when your luck is out, it stays out, and just after he had won the second set against Rinky Hijikata, he slipped and could not continue.
Now, his presence at Wimbledon is seriously in jeopardy.
Frances Tiafoe’s Wimbledon future made clearer
There was a worrying lack of information emerging after Frances Tiafoe’s injury aside from him confirming that he had sustained an MCL strain.
However, although many feared for him, he has recently been pictured practising alongside Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon.
Both retired from matches earlier this month, but now seem ready and prepared to compete at the event.
Tiafoe, if he has overcome his fitness ailment, now only has his awful form to overcome.
Frances Tiafoe desperately needs some luck
This has been a year of setback after setback for the 26-year-old, and his results have only continued to suffer as 2024 has gone on.
Starting off in Hong Kong, his inability to go deep into a tournament where he was the third seed set the precedent for what was to come, and he followed that up with a second-round exit at the Australian Open too.
There were improvements in Dallas and at the Delray Beach Open, but neither saw him reach the final, yet even when he did in Houston, his compatriot Ben Shelton was on hand to stop him.
Losing in the first round of Miami and Madrid marked a particular low point for Tiafoe, before he was also dumped out of a Challenger event where he sought to regain his confidence.
The tennis world knows how good this energetic and explosive star can be, but when he does not believe in himself it is hard to see him coming through many matches.
Two torrid Grand Slam showings this year do not make for good reading going into Wimbledon, but the only way to fix these issues is to continue playing and trying to shift the narrative.
So, at one of tennis’ oldest and most prestigious events, there is arguably no better place to stage such a turnaround.
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