Frances Tiafoe has been reunited with his racket after losing track of his equipment in the celebrations that followed his French Open win over Hubert Hurkacz.
The American prevailed in a five-set battle to reach the third round at Roland Garros, but later revealed that his racket had been taken in the subsequent celebratory melee.
The 19th seed had offered a reward of two tickets to the individual who had taken his Yonex, and it appears the thief took Tiafoe up on the offer after the racket was returned to his coach.
“I hugged him with my racket in my hand, and then I was, like, my arm is getting stuck,” Tiafoe explained of the moment it was pinched. “But my mind’s going a thousand miles an hour, so at the time I’m trying to chill out, give my respects to my opponent, give my respects to the ref.
“And then you’re like, ‘Wait, hold on, what’s was going on?’ They were locking me in. I thought I was going to fall into the crowd at one point. But it was fun, it was a cool moment. But I actually need that racket.
Tiafoe had suggested that he wouldn’t have been reunited with the item had he been playing in the United States, but “in Europe, they love tennis so much, I think I’m going to get it”.
The 28-year-old will face Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria in the third round with his section of the draw opening up after the shock exit of world No 1 and tournament favourite Jannik Sinner.
Tiafoe reached the quarter-finals in Paris last year.
