Follow us on Google Discover Frances Tiafoe continued his frustrating season at the Shanghai Masters, where he lost his opener against Yannick Hanfmann.
Tiafoe was beaten 7-6(11-9), 2-6, 1-6 by qualifier Hanfmann, having also lost his opening match at the Japan Open shortly before.
Those early exits followed a third round loss at the US Open, with former ATP number 10 Tiafoe now occupying 28th place in the world rankings.
The American has 26 wins to his name so far this season, in which he hasn’t been able to add to his three ATP titles.
And another victory for Tiafoe is now a long way away given his latest decisions regarding the ATP schedule.
Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty ImagesFrances Tiafoe pulls out of four ATP events and may end his season early
Tiafoe first withdrew from the ATP 250 Brussels, and has now taken the same action for three more tournaments.
The 27-year-old will not feature at the ATP 500 Vienna, the ATP Masters 1000 Paris or the ATP 250 Metz.
The decisions strongly suggest that Tiafoe will end his 2025 season early, which wouldn’t be the worst plan for the American.
Paris update:
OUT: Tiafoe
IN: Sonego
Next: Kecmanovic
— Entry List Updates (@EntryLists) October 8, 2025
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Why Frances Tiafoe ending his season early could be a good thing
Tiafoe certainly wouldn’t be the only player to call time on the current year, with Daria Kasatkina recently ending her season early.
Paula Badosa is finished for 2025 too, while retirements and withdrawals have been common themes across the ATP and WTA tours in recent times.
Tiafoe would avoid a potential injury or burnout should he follow the likes of Kasatkina and Badosa, while an early ending would also allow him to rest and recover for a big push in 2026.
The American hasn’t lived up to expectations this season, but he could gain a head start on his rivals by looking ahead to the new campaign.
YearTitlesTournaments20232Stuttgart (Outdoor/Grass)
Houston (Outdoor/Clay)20181Delray Beach (Outdoor/Hard)Frances Tiafoe ATP titles
He would also be much fresher than his ATP opponents, while at 25th in the Race to Turin rankings, he won’t make the ATP Finals anyway.
With two US Open semifinals appearances on his CV, Tiafoe is clearly better than his current standing, and there would be no shame in taking a big move towards getting back to his best by hanging up his racket for 2025.