Md. teen reaches 2nd round of Wimbledon, inspires kids at College Park tennis center
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (ABC7) — At the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park the future greats of tennis were cheering on one of their own playing an ocean away.
Frances Tiafoe is a native son of Prince George’s County, currently the 69th ranked tennis player in the world. He’s only 19 years old and playing in the second round at Wimbledon.
Director of high performance tennis Frank Salazar coached Tiafoe, just like the junior players working hard today. Tiafoe’s dad worked here and his young son’s talent was spotted early.
“I met him when he was four,” Salazar says. “He was basically born and raised here at this facility.”
For Tiafoe getting to the second round at Wimbledon was a major leap forward, marking his first victory in a major tournament.
At the tennis center there are many more kids hoping to be where Tiafoe is today.
Frances Tiafoe is an inspiration to them.
And part of the lesson is to fight through adversity. Tiafoe lost Thursday but his coach predicts greater achievements are ahead.
