"Her story, her drive always keep me going" - Frances Tiafoe picks actress Viola Davis as his female role model on International Women's Day

World No. 18 Frances Tiafoe opened up about actress Viola Davis, one of his female role models, to mark the occasion of International Women's Day on Friday (March 8).

Viola Davis is an American actress who made her on-screen debut in the late 1990s. Since then, she has won an Oscar, a Grammy and a Tony Award, making her the only black actress to achieve the 'Triple Crown of Acting'.

Moreover, it has been well-documented how Davis grew up in extreme poverty and the extent to which she was subject to racist abuse. In that context, Frances Tiafoe mentioning to the ATP Tour in a recent video segment that he looked up to the four-time Oscar nominee was hardly surprising, as he himself came from humble beginnings.

"Let's go Viola Davis. She's my favorite actor, one of my favorite individuals, I actually don't know her personally, but her story, her drive always keep me going," Frances Tiafoe told the ATP Tour on Women's Day. "I feel really like she's really respected in obviously Hollywood, but really underrated. She's one of the best ever to do it and I love the messaging she has in a lot of her movies."

---

Frances Tiafoe also looks up to Juan Martin Del Potro, Gael Monfils and Arthur Ashe

Frances Tiafoe poses with Gael Monfils at Taste Of Tennis New York event in 2016

Frances Tiafoe also has several idols in the tennis world. The 26-year-old has admitted that his first idol was 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro, partly because the Argentine was the first player to give him an autograph.

He also disclosed to former World No. 6 Gael Monfils following their 2021 Canadian Open third-round encounter that he looked up to him as a child.

"I looked up to you a lot as a kid, man. I want to see you play for many more years," Frances Tiafoe told Monfils after losing to him in Toronto 2021.

The three-time ATP titlist also previously expressed admiration for Arthur Ashe, who paved the way for people of color by winning three Major titles. He even wrote a letter to the late icon in September 2022 after winning the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award.

"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," Tiafoe wrote in the letter published on the ATP Tour's website. "Everybody has the opportunity to be something special. I was one of those kids who did not have a great chance of making it this far. Nothing you ever did was about you. You were just trying to be a person first and an athlete second. It was always about helping others. That is truly inspirational."