Cincinnati Open star shows true colours as he makes incredible £22,000 gesture

Frances Tiafoe transformed a young tennis player's life by handing him £22,000 to help with his college expenses in America. The 27-year-old admitted that the sport "saved me" during his younger years growing up in Maryland, and stated he hoped he could do the same for others by helping fund their way through their education.

Tiafoe exited the Cincinnati Open at the round of 16 on Wednesday to world No.9 Holger Rune, retiring from the tournament due to a lower back injury. While this puts worries in fans heads with the US Open beginning later on in August, the world No.12 has been making some serious moves off the court with his fund through the USTA Foundation. Speaking to the , Tiafoe opened up about his plans to make tennis an easier journey for upcoming stars as he pledged a whopping donation to one young player.

The American said: "It's awesome. Russell Lokko, he's a junior at Louiseville, going to be a junior there at Louisville. I'm super happy for him and excited for him to come and watch him play and hang out with him the last couple days. I was able to give him a 30 grand check.

"My fund within the USTA foundation has been incredible. We've been doing some great stuff, helping NJTL's up, juniors as well. And having Will France, who's someone I grew up with to be able to help me with that and get me on the phone and pick great kids and great players as well."

Tiafoe went on to describe the relationship he has developed with Russell Lokko, a New Jersey native who will now be able to finish his education without worry of debt forming in the future - allowing him to focus on his studies and on tennis.

The former US Open semi-finalist said: "For me, this was really special because you get a personal relationship with a guy and you know, understanding that he looked up to me and yeah, we're doing just basic stuff.

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"Understanding that yeah, he's seen me as a good tennis player, but more than that you know, I want to be known as a great person and a real person and he got to see that and I'm happy this is going to take the monkeys off his back a little bit.

"He and his family deserve it. He's a super solid kid, and he deserves his blessing, and I'm happy for him."

Tiafoe added that he hopes to continue to see the melting pot of tennis grow further, and plans to continue to make change across the sport wherever he can. The 27-year-old said: "I feel that when I'm out there playing. I heard the other day, MC Hops is one of my favourite guys.

"You measure your success by how many people you bless and seeing the different demographic when I'm out there playing - obviously, so many different people, walks of life, people of colour, people of all kinds.

"I hear sometimes when I'm at practice like 'You don't know how much you're doing, you've changed my kids life, you give him inspiration by hearing your story'. It's awesome, it's not an average tennis story - the game didn't change my life, it saved mine. I don't know what I'd be doing without it."

The USTA Foundation website states how Tiafoe got his start in tennis through a similar fashion to Lokko, at the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC), which is a chapter of the NJTL. His generous gift to the young player showcases his kindhearted nature and desire to give back in the sport that he couldn't live without.