American star Frances Tiafoe has struggled for form during the early stages of the 2025 season.
The world number 17 suffered a tough loss in Melbourne earlier this year, as Tiafoe lost to Fabian Marozsan in the second round of the Australian Open.
Early exits followed in Dallas, Acapulco, and at Indian Wells, with the 27-year-old failing to win more than one match at each event.
The pattern continued when Tiafoe lost to Arthur Fils in Miami, having won his opener against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Approaching the clay court season with a 6-6 record on the ATP Tour, one former American tennis star explains whether he is worried about Tiafoe’s form.
Sam Querrey doesn’t think Frances Tiafoe’s form is cause for ‘serious concern’
Speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, former Wimbledon semi-finalist Sam Querrey gave his honest opinion on Tiafoe’s 2025 campaign.
“I don’t think anything of serious concern is going on,” said Querrey.
“He is just having a bit of a rough patch for a player of his calibre at the moment.
“Last summer, he got to the final of Cinci and semi-finaled the US Open, so he had a good pop there late in the summer, and his bar was set really high, and he has struggled to find that form again.
“I think as a top player sometimes you feel that pressure to put up the results over and over [again], and when you start the year off like he has, losing early in a handful of tournaments, it starts to creep into your mind, the doubt.”
Querrey believes that Tiafoe still can pick up titles on the ATP Tour and wouldn’t be surprised to see him do so on clay over the coming months.
“The beauty of tennis is that you get a fresh start with every tournament,” he said.
“At any moment, he can go into a tournament and pop a final or win a tournament, even if that is a [ATP] 250, and then he is back.
“He can go to Houston final or winner, Estoril final or winner, and I think Frances bounces back.
“He just needs to find that one week or one little spark to get him going.”
Tiafoe has reached three clay court finals during his time as a professional, winning his sole title on the surface in 2023.
- 2018 Estoril Open – Frances Tiafoe lost in F to Joao Sousa, 4-6, 4-6
- 2023 Houston Open – Frances Tiafoe beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry in F, 7-6, 7-6
- 2024 Houston Open – Frances Tiafoe lost in F to Ben Shelton, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6
Frances Tiafoe is on course to fall out of the ATP top 50 in 2025
Currently ranked 17th in the world, Tiafoe has only amassed 275 points this year, as he falls down against his ATP rivals in the ‘Race to Turin.’
| ATP Race rank | Name | ATP rank | 2025 points |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | 1 | 2,000 |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev | 2 | 1,665 |
| 3 | Jack Draper | 7 | 1,540 |
| 4 | Novak Djokovic | 5 | 1,510 |
| 5 | Carlos Alcaraz | 3 | 1,410 |
| 16 | Daniil Medvedev | 8 | 810 |
| 18 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 10 | 805 |
| 21 | Andrey Rublev | 9 | 730 |
| 25 | Casper Ruud | 6 | 625 |
| 51 | Lorenzo Musetti | 16 | 350 |
| 64 | Frances Tiafoe | 17 | 275 |
The American has only picked up enough points for 64th place in the Race to Turin, leaving him a lot of work to do if he wants to qualify for the ATP Finals later this year.
He could, however, jump back into the top 35 with a win in Houston next week, a tournament he’ll enter as the number two seed.
Top eight seeds at the 2025 Houston Open
- [1] Tommy Paul
- [2] Frances Tiafoe
- [3] Alejandro Tabilo
- [4] Brandon Nakashima
- [5] Alex Michelsen
- [6] Jordan Thompson
- [7] Tomas Martin Etcheverry
- [8] Kei Nishikori
Tiafoe will be confident of turning his form around, having reached the final at the event in 2023 and 2024.
He’ll then travel to Europe, where he is scheduled to play at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Barcelona Open, and the Madrid Open.
Only time will tell if Tiafoe can turn his fortunes around, but he’ll certainly be hoping for a big performance when he steps onto the court in Texas next week.
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