Frances Tiafoe called out his girlfriend, Ayan Broomfield, in a stinging remark. He said her post was stupid, and the take-down played out online. The post dropped during the thick of the at Flushing Meadows, where schedules get heavy.
Broomfield, a pro tennis player in her own right, had shared a casual photo from bed, and she took aim at the tournament's workload gap between the men's and women's sides. She brought along a bunch of friends, and the group was jokingly labelled a sideline full of heat.
Tiafoe's shot pulled attention toward his off-court life, and the exchange landed in the spotlight. The line he chose was raw, with no softer framing around it. The report was dropped on a Tuesday in early September, and it left readers talking about where the line is for athletes and their partners on grand slam days.