Jay-Z To Sign American Francis Tiafoe To Sports Agency
Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z is about to open his own sports agency and he is looking to sign American rising star, Francis Tiafoe according to report via Yahoo. It appears that the 44-year-old rapper sees a lot of potential in the 16-year-pld American tennis player.
Growing up shrouded in poverty in Brooklyn, New York, the musician's attention was specially caught by the story of Tiafoe and he is ready to pave the way for the teenager's dream to come true.
Tiafoe's life story is quite compelling. His father emigrated from West Africa for better opportunities in the United States. He worked as a maintenance man on an elite junior tennis centre and later was forced to work long hours and to sleep at work. Tiafoe and his twin brother, Franklin, would come to their father's work place where they pretty much grew up. Despite the struggle, Tiafoe benefited from the circumstance by scoring free lessons at the academy by virtue of his father's job when lessons usually cost thousands of bucks.
At present, the 16-year-old is ranked world fifth-best and country's best junior and with Jay-Z's support, he could now be on the road to success and his way to the top. Just recently, Jay-Z allegedly invited Tiafoe and his family to one of his concerts to convince them to sign his sports agency.
For years now, the US men's tennis has been in eclipse. In fact, there was no Grand Slam Singles Championship title for America since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open. Moreover, American men are way-off their female counterparts in the world ranking.
Finally, with the budding star Tiafoe, fans of the US tennis might gain hope that he will be the catalyst that they've been waiting for to start a new era of success on the tennis court for America.
Last month, Bill Ackman, the CEO of the $14 million industry, Pershing Square Capital pledged to sponsor Tiafoe. "I'm in a position to be able to help people, and he's the kind of guy you want to back," Ackman told Business Insider via a phone interview.
