Maryland Gov. Wes Moore invited tennis star Francis Tiafoe to the State House Thursday morning.
The 25-year-old Hyattsville native was given a citation from the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates for his accomplishments.
“It’s an honor to meet Prince George’s County’s own Frances Tiafoe, and congratulate him on all his accomplishments on and off the court,” Moore said in a statement.
He got his start in tennis at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park where his father, an immigrant from Sierra Leone, worked as a maintenance man. In 2019, Tiafoe made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Tiafoe caught the sport of tennis by storm in 2022 when he became the first American born to go to the U.S. Open semifinals since 2006, when he defeated Rafael Nadal.
As a result of his run in the U.S. Open, he was honored by Prince George’s County on Sept. 16, 2022, on the exact court where he learned the game.
“His hard work and dedication is an inspiration for all Marylanders. On behalf of our entire administration, we wish him luck as he continues to change the way the world sees the game of tennis, one match at a time,” said Moore.