The glamourous tennis-playing girlfriend of American star Frances Tiafoe has taken issue with the lack of people of colour at the Australian Open in a pair of viral TikTok videos.
Ayan Broomfield is a Canadian tennis player who gained recognition for her doubles success at the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championship while playing for UCLA.
Beyond her tennis career, Broomfield has also worked as a body double for actor Saniyya Sidney’s Venus Williams in the Oscar award-winning film King Richard.
She is also known for being the girlfriend of Frances Tiafoe, a rising star in men’s tennis, and is Down Under to support her man at the Australian Open.
Broomfield and Tiafoe have been a couple for several years with the American star who is ranked 16th in the world hoping to go deep in the tournament.
‘POV, you go to the Australian Open and don’t any [emojis of people of colour] girls,’ she posted, with the footage showing her looking bewildered.
Glamourous Canadian tennis star Ayan Broomfield posted this video to TikTok from the Australian Open, looking bewildered by the lack of people of colour in the crowd
The post by Broomfield (pictured with partner Frances Tiafoe) saw some commenters say they felt out of place at the tennis at Melbourne Park
The video has attracted over 60,000 reactions and more than 1000 comments, mostly pointing out that some fans can’t afford the steep prices to attend Australia’s premier tennis event.
‘Yeah, we don’t do Australian Open,’ one follower replied.
Many commented that they had tried to enjoy the tennis at Melbourne Park before, but felt out of place.
‘I felt like that as well. in fact, I received a lot of stares. quite strange,’ one posted.
‘As a Maori [whose] partner played last 10yrs I would ALWAYS get the side eyes when goin into players lounges etc. u definitely notice the lack of colour walking around,’ added another.
‘A group of 5-6 of us would go every year 10 years ago and we were the only ones. Glad to see nothing has changed a decade later,’ another posted with a laughing emoji.
‘Wait until you go to the footy,’ suggested another.
Many commented that the cost of attending was another significant barrier.
Broomfield offered to help fans out with tickets to correct what she saw as a problem with the make-up of spectators at the grand slam
‘Court tickets start at $185. But on average are between $250-$400,’ pointed out another.
‘I would love to go but it’s so expensive,’ posted yet another.
Broomfield even went to the lengths of saying she would get tickets to get more POC at the Open.
‘I don’t have that type of money for a ticket,’ a follower named Jeanie posted.
‘DM me my mans playing I can get you one,’ Broomfield replied.
Others said the heat prevented them from attending.
‘It’s gonna be 36 Thursday and I was [already] dying at 30 with the humidity,’ a follower commented.
However, others said they were regulars at the Australian Open and had not experienced any issues.
‘Tbh as a brown poly [Polynesian] who’s been AO every yr since I was young, I’ve never been made to feel out of place. Truly one of the greatest times of the yr!’ posted one Aussie Open fan.
Broomfield then released a second TikTok to discuss the issue, calling for POC to rally and offering to get as many free tickets together as possible to get them to the event.
Broomfield has posted a second video saying she will source tickets to get more POC to matches involving her partner Tiafoe
‘I just made a TikTok about how I was at the Australian Open, I was there to watch my boyfriend play, and I didn’t really see any other women or people of colour,’ she said.
‘In specific, black people, but people of colour nonetheless.
‘What can I tell you? TikTok pushed it to the right community. I don’t know how the algorithm works, but it did its job.
‘A lot of people spoke about difficulty getting tickets, the heat, not feeling like they would belong and then not knowing any black players to support.’
‘So, let me see if I can help.
‘First thing, tickets, I don’t know how many I am going to be able to get. But if you DM me, I can see if I can try and get you a ticket to go in.
‘First come, first serve, and I will see what I can do.’
