American tennis fans had a weekend to forget, with their beloved team going out to Czechia in the Davis Cup Qualifiers. With the exit, Team USA will not be playing in the Davis Cup Finals at the end of the year, marking another year without winning the team event.
USA is the most successful tournament in the history of the Davis Cup, having won the title an incredible 32 times. Their last win, however, came all the way back in 2007, with the Americans never having even reached the final since then.
In 2025, US tennis appeared to have a good shot at righting that, considering they have four players in the Top-30: Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe. With Shelton injured, captain Bob Bryan nominated Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka for the second round of qualifiers against Czechia, which had Jakub Mensik and Jiri Lehecka as the lead singles players.
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Starting the clash, Tiafoe lost out to Lehecka, followed by Fritz beating Mensik and the doubles pair of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beating Tomas Machac/Jakub Mensik in a thriller.
In the reverse singles, Fritz, battling an illness, went out Lehecka in a three-setter, leaving Tiafoe with a must-win clash against Mensik. Unfortunately, the former US Open semifinalist could not get it done, losing in straight sets to send his team out of the Final 8.
Fans on social media were far from okay with the result, as they piled on the American for not getting it done. They also called out Bob Bryan for even putting up Tiafoe in the final showdown, arguing that the big-serving Opelka would have been a much-better option.
"Frances Tiafoe wants to be a celebrity athlete. Not a tennis player! He’d love to be on a football or Basketball team, where wins & losses aren’t on him!" one fan said.
"Tiafoe can’t beat anyone lmao," another wrote.
For context, Tiafoe is now 1-7 in career matches at the Davis Cup, with his lone win coming against then World No. 275 Nicolas Mejia in 2021. Since then, he has lost five matches in a row.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
"Bob Bryan must be sacked. Anyone with a brain would’ve called up Opelka."
"This result was not surprising. Tiafoe is just a touch over .500 for his career. Obviously, even worse in team completions representing the US. Why do people act like he's an elite player?"
"USA needed someone who could put some scoreboard pressure on Mensik & that was never gonna be Tiafoe. Bryan should have taken a punt on Opelka, he definitely wouldn't have lost 6-1 6-4 to someone who had lost in straight sets to sick man the day before."
When Taylor Fritz and Francis Tiafoe are regarded as our countries best tennnis players, you know we suck at the sport #ATP #DavisCup
What next for Frances Tiafoe after Davis Cup debacle?
As for what lies next for Frances Tiafoe, the World No. 29 is scheduled to appear at the Tokyo Open to kick-off the Asian swing. Before the Davis Cup, he was in action at the US Open, losing in the third round.
2025 has been a lukewarm season for the American, as he remains title-less, with only one final to show for (Loss to Jenson Brooksby at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in March).
