"Calling me Ronald McDonald... I didn't think that was funny" - Frances Tiafoe reveals why he is 'upset' with Taylor Townsend at Citi DC Open

Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Townsend - Source: Getty
Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Townsend - Source: Getty

Frances Tiafoe recently made his feelings known about Taylor Townsend roasting his Citi Open outfit during his second round. The American is currently gearing up for his upcoming events of the 2025 tennis season.

Ad

Tiafoe locked horns with Flavio Cobolli, where not only his impressive performance garnered attention, but also his Washington Commanders-inspired fit gained reactions. He wore a Lululemon yellow and red outfit as a tribute to the Washington Commanders NFL team in the second round of the tournament.

Shortly after his match against Cobolli, the American revealed the reason behind why he was upset with Townsend in the post-match press conference. Opening up about her roasting his Citi Open outfit, he said while laughing (as quoted by Tennis.com):

Ad
“I'm a little upset with her, because she was clowning my outfit, calling me Ronald McDonald earlier today. I wasn't messing with that at all. I didn't think that was funny earlier. I'm going to have to knock her, it be your own people, man. That's the thing. It be your own people!” said Frances Tiafoe.
Ad

Tiafoe was last seen in action on July 25, where he competed in the third round of the Citi DC Open; however, he fell short of advancing further after being bested by Ben Shelton. The latter dominated the round and claimed the victory with a straight two-set victory win (7-6(7), 6-4).

Ahead of the Citi Open campaign, Tiafoe competed at Wimbledon, which saw him get underwhelmed by Cameron Norrie in the second round of the tournament on July 2, 2025.

Ad

Frances Tiafoe made his feelings known about Ben Shelton ahead of their clash at the Citi Open

Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are two of the most prominent American players in the tennis world, and they have delivered several nail-biting yet exciting clashes together in multiple tournaments. Ahead of their showdown in the third round of the Citi Open, Tiafoe sat for a pre-match conference, where he was asked about his feelings on teaming up with Shelton in the tournament's men's doubles.

Ad

Replying to this, Tiafoe opened up about his feelings for Shelton, talking about the games they have played together.

"I love Ben, man. We've had incredible battles and became incredibly close the last few years. Our humor, our mannerisms is very much the same," Frances Tiafoe said.

Reflecting on how the crowd will react seeing him and Shelton play together, he said:

Ad
"And the crowd's going to go nuts. We just practiced just now and we couldn't even get out the court. The crowds are going to go absolutely nuts. I'm super excited to get out there with him and we're going to go for it. We're going to try pretty hard and try to win some matches out here, both singles and doubles. So it's going to be really fun."

Frances Tiafoe opened his 2025 season by competing at the Brisbane International, where he couldn't progress further than the second round after being defeated by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Quick Links

Edited by Tushhita Barua
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
down arrow icon
More
bell-icon Manage notifications