In September, after the US Open, he attended New York Fashion Week, catching the “insane, insane” Vogue World show and sitting alongside Ciara and Russell Westbrook on Tom Ford’s runway. “That was crazy,” says Tiafoe. “For them to be asking questions and to be excited to talk. Because you don’t think about these things, right? You’re just playing tennis, and you don’t realize how deep the reach goes.”
To that point, he touches on the whirlwind effect of increased recognition. “I think this year made me get closer to the people around me,” he says. “You really start leaning on them because so many people are coming from the woodwork. Everyone’s got their two cents, telling you, ‘Oh, you should do this, you should do that.’ I want to keep listening to the people that have been with me. I don’t want to change because I’m in a new spot.”
Back at Amanyara, Tiafoe is happily hitting one-on-one with clinic participants. The program feels especially brilliant in this day and age of voracious post-COVID demand for luxury experiences as opposed to just comfortable getaways. The combination of elite sport, a social media moment, celebrity frisson, and general travelers’ camaraderie—tied together with charitable giving—is, well, a winner.
“The world’s top resorts are constantly looking for ways to innovate and stand out,” says Chris McCormack, vice president of the athlete-talent-management and sports-marketing firm GSE Worldwide and the key organizer of these clinics. “Amanyara has created an exclusive, unrivaled offering with its Legends program. Two months ago, Aman’s guests were watching Tiafoe take out Nadal at the US Open. Today, they’re matched up on the other side of the net.”
When it’s my turn to hit, I’m lucky enough to play with Tiafoe in an informal doubles game. Suffice to say, I’m nervous. “Stay with it, stay with it,” he says, as my backhand slices fly high, long, and a bit depowered as such. It works, though—Tiafoe has a sort of preternatural coolness and, with that, an easygoing verve that helps with control. Of course, he plays at about 10% of his normal skill, given nobody in this clinic is especially advanced. But when he does rip a forehand—with his famed unconventional swing—everyone cheers.
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