Frances Tiafoe has come under fire despite winning his opening match at the Canadian Open.
Tiafoe bounced back from his defeat to Ben Shelton at the Washington Open, as he continues his preparation for the US Open.
The American has been critical of the tournament he is currently at, with Tiafoe calling a change the Canadian Open has made ‘garbage’.
However, it is now Tiafoe who is being criticized for something he did after winning his first match in Toronto.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesFrances Tiafoe criticized for not shaking the umpire’s hand after Canadian Open match
Despite being ranked 146 places higher than his opponent, Yosuke Watanuki, Tiafoe only just managed to beat the qualifier, 1-6 7-5 7-6(5).
However, perhaps the biggest talking point came after the final point was played, when Tiafoe appeared to put his hand out to shake umpire Fergus Murphy’s hand before swiftly pulling it away.
This seemingly stemmed from Murphy giving Tiafoe a time violation and then a code violation for swearing.
After Tiafoe made the decision not to shake the hand of Murphy, tennis fans criticized him for his behaviour.
One person compared Tiafoe to Nick Kyrgios, who has been involved in many spats with umpires himself over the years.
They wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Tiafoe is lowkey an American version of NK, no class whatsoever.”
Another person echoed this sentiment, “No class.”
The criticism continued for Tiafoe, who has been called disrespectful and a bad sport by other social media users.
One wrote, “He’s just awful. He held his hand out than took it back last second, so disrespectful.”
He’s just awful. He held his hand out than took it back last second, so disrespectful.
— Jo (@asiaole2000) July 30, 2025
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Another added, “Another example of poor sportsmanship from Tiafoe.”
Another example of poor sportsmanship from Tiafoe.
— Callum (@FyldeCal) July 30, 2025
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While Tiafoe is one of the more popular players on the ATP Tour, it has been pointed out that this is not the first time that he has clashed with an umpire.
Someone wrote, “Didn’t see what happened on this one, but Tiafoe does this a lot.”
Didn’t see what happened on this one, but Tiafoe does this a lot
— ChrisjBrewer (@BrewerChrisj) July 31, 2025
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Will Frances Tiafoe be fined for not shaking the umpire’s hand?
It is unclear as to whether Tiafoe will be financially punished for his actions, but it is not something he is unfamiliar with.
Perhaps the most notable in recent memory came at the Shanghai Masters last year, where Tiafoe swore at umpire Jimmy Pinoargote for giving him a time violation that he did not agree with.
After receiving a lot of criticism, Tiafoe released a subsequent apology, but that did not help him escape a financial punishment.
Tiafoe was subsequently fined $120,000 for his actions, split between $60,000 for aggravated behaviour on top of the maximum $60,000 fine for verbal abuse.
While it is not clear if he will have to pay a fine for his latest actions, Tiafoe still remains in the Canadian Open.
First, Tiafoe will look to end his losing doubles run, before playing his next singles match against Aleksandar Vukic.