Frances Tiafoe said the lack of diversity in tennis made him feel like an 'outsider.' Now, he's using his platform to advocate for racial equality on and off the courts.

• Frances Tiafoe became the first male Black American tennis player to reach a US Open semifinal since 1972.
• The 24-year-old athlete is pushing for diversity in a white-dominated sport.

Frances Tiafoe stunned the tennis world after a stellar run at this year's US Open, paving the way for more Black American athletes in a sport largely dominated by white players.

The 24-year-old tennis star wowed spectators at the Open, becoming the first American man since 2006 to reach the Grand Slam semifinals. He also became the first Black American man to reach a US Open semifinal since Arthur Ashe in 1972.

Tiafoe's rise on the courts has been celebrated by other Black athletes, like LeBron James.

As one of just a few Black men in the top 100, Tiafoe said he's had to work twice as hard to break through the ranks of the tennis elite.

"I definitely feel that not everybody wants to see that success in me," Tiafoe previously told CNN. "Ultimately, they don't want us in power. I truly think that's a thing."

Pushing for racial justice

Making it big in tennis isn't cheap: A recent study found tennis players spend between $175,000 to $2 million per year on expenses.

Having role models that Black children can look up to is crucial, Tiafoe said, telling CNN the lack of diversity in the sport made him feel like an "outsider." He added that it's his "duty" to "help as many people as I can."

After the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, Tiafoe and his girlfriend, the tennis player Ayan Bloomfield, created a protest video to raise awareness of racial injustice. Their "Racquets down, hands up" video, which featured Black players and coaches like Serena Williams and Coco Gauff, received several hundred thousand views across social media.

Tiafoe said he wants to use his platform to enact social change, both on and off the courts.

"I think if more people who have weight, who have a big platform, speak out then I think change can happen and you can be optimistic," he told CNN.

In an open letter to Arthur Ashe in January 2021, Tiafoe wrote about his desire to pay it forward to the next generation of kids who now look up to him.

"If there are kids out there who do not think they can achieve their dreams, I want to change that. I really believe success is in everyone," Tiafoe wrote. "I want to paint a picture for them that they did not know was possible. I want to help them make that a reality."

"I wanted people to know that everybody matters. It does not matter who you are, where you come from or what the color of your skin is. Everybody has the opportunity to be something special."

The son of immigrants

The sons of immigrants from Sierra Leone, Tiafoe and his twin brother grew up at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in D.C., where their father worked as a maintenance man. They moved into a vacant storage room and slept on massage tables.

Though Tiafoe started playing tennis as a way of "getting out of our neighborhood" and earning a scholarship, his talent and love for the sport soon became clear.

"I just had a big passion for the game," Tiafoe said at a press conference on Monday. "Watching Serena and Venus [Williams] play finals of Grand Slams at that time, when I was super young, I was like, 'How cool would it be to play Wimbledon, to play on Arthur Ashe, and stuff like that?'"