No Sweat. Frances Tiafoe Would Like a Fresh Shirt Now.

During a changeover 26 minutes into his second-round match in opposition to Sebastian Ofner, Frances Tiafoe reached into his bag, pulled out a recent prime and altered his shirt. Twenty-four minutes later, up by 4-1 within the second set, he swapped that shirt for a clear one once more.

Between the second and third set, Ofner took a medical timeout. Tiafoe had been carrying his shirt for under about six minutes, however he was prepared for an additional.

Before the match ended, Tiafoe modified his teal sleeveless shirt as soon as extra. By the top of his straight-sets victory over Ofner, there was a pile of sweaty shirts by Tiafoe’s bench. He picked all of them up and stuffed them into his bag earlier than leaving the court docket. (Those shirts are later given to the U.S. Open workers members who handle the laundry.)

Through the fourth spherical, Tiafoe had modified his prime 20 instances, a mean of 5 instances per match.

He will often return to his bench, hydrate and towel off his face and physique earlier than slipping right into a recent shirt. He has no particular technique for figuring out when he wants to vary. Sometimes he’ll seize a recent shirt out of his bag on the finish of a set. Other instances, he’ll change a number of instances in a single set.

It will not be unusual for a participant who has been sweating in a contest to vary right into a clear shirt a number of instances every match. But Tiafoe has taken freshening as much as an elite, seemingly compulsive stage.

If he feels uncomfortable, he needs a recent prime.

“You want to be as light as you can on the court,” Tiafoe mentioned after his second-round victory, including that if he feels even a small quantity of moisture on his shirt, he’ll change it. “I’m very adamant about that.”

Many athletes have quirks. Superstitious baseball gamers jump over foul traces to keep away from dangerous luck. Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, is steadfast about having two water bottles by his bench positioned diagonally from one another with the logos going through the court docket. For Tiafoe, it’s a close to obsession with altering shirts — maybe greater than another participant on the boys’s tour.

At tournaments, many gamers put on one outfit and keep it up; others swap out an outfit solely whether it is uncomfortable or appears unfortunate. At final 12 months’s U.S. Open, Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, requested an umpire for permission to vary her outfit in the course of a match.

Players can change tops from their benches throughout matches. Men are allowed two alternatives to depart the court docket for an entire outfit change in a best-of-five match, and ladies are allowed one change of apparel in a best-of-three match.

“Shirts, socks and shoes should be changed on court,” the International Tennis Federation rule guide says.

At this 12 months’s U.S. Open, Tiafoe has sported a teal, sleeveless prime patterned with shades of child blue, coral, peach and maroon. He has accomplished his ensemble with teal shorts and a pair of brilliant purple footwear along with his nickname, Big Foe, throughout the heels.

Tiafoe mentioned he packed as many as 20 tops in his bag to make certain he had sufficient for his matches. He additionally takes two further pairs of footwear, in case a pair turns into too sweaty.

“I don’t want to feel like I’m playing with really sweaty clothes just because I’m not prepared,” Tiafoe mentioned. “I know how much I can sweat.”

And Tiafoe sweats so much. In a few his matches at this event, even after he has modified shirts, Tiafoe has wanted assist from a ball crew member to peel his shirt off his again as a result of the highest had caught to his shoulders.

The climate on the U.S. Open has appeared to play a job in what number of instances Tiafoe has modified garments.

In his first-round match, the humidity ranges made taking part in situations really feel muggy inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. In that match, in opposition to Learner Tien, Tiafoe modified his shirt six instances.

But even after a chilly entrance swept by New York in time for Tiafoe’s second- and third-round matches, he perspired sufficient to vary 4 instances on Wednesday in opposition to Ofner and 4 instances on Friday in opposition to Adrian Mannarino.

By his fourth-round match in opposition to Rinky Hijikata on Sunday, temperatures had reached 88 levels. This week, the forecast is for humid days with temperatures into the 90s by Thursday, above regular for this time of 12 months in New York, earlier than settling into the 80s for the semifinals and last.

When Tiafoe performs Ben Shelton within the quarterfinals on Tuesday that can in all probability imply extra sweat and extra shirt modifications.

But who’s counting?