Tiafoe Loses French Open Fourth-Round Match After Leading Two Sets to One

Frances Tiafoe lost to Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in the fourth round of the French Open on Monday night after leading two sets to one and 4-1 in the fourth set. The match lasted nearly five and a half hours and concluded close to 1 a.m. Paris time. Tiafoe did not attend the customary post-match news conference. The loss ended his run as the last American player remaining in the tournament.

Tiafoe will need time to recover from the physical demands of the match and the disappointment of relinquishing the lead, the report stated. He had reached the fourth round after a five-set win over Hubert Hurkacz in the second round. Andy Roddick noted that Tiafoe had improved his physical conditioning compared with a year earlier.

Roddick said Tiafoe lacked that level of physicality during the previous season.

Tiafoe hired performance physiologist Mark Kovacs late in 2025 after an early exit at the U.S. Open. Kovacs, who first met Tiafoe when Tiafoe was 12, introduced stricter training discipline and scheduling requirements. Tiafoe described conversations with Kovacs about using his talent more consistently rather than relying on it alone.

He said the new approach gave him a better chance to compete at a high level. Lindsay Davenport said Kovacs would not have accepted the role unless Tiafoe was committed to change. She added that Tiafoe had restructured aspects of his daily routine around tennis preparation.