ARLINGTON, Va. – It turns out hockey and tennis are a pretty good match.
Frances Tiafoe, the No. 16 ranked men’s singles tennis player in the world and a Hyattsville, Maryland native, stopped by the Washington Capitals practice on Tuesday and stuck around afterward to hit some balls with the players on the ice.
Defensemen Trevor van Riemsdyk and Rasmus Sandin, forwards Tom Wilson, Hendrix Lapierre and T.J. Oshie and goalie Charlie Lindgren were among those who tested their skills against Tiafoe, who reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open this year after advancing to the semifinals in 2022.
“Really cool,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “I obviously know who he is and have followed his career, but then we watched yesterday as a staff PBS did a special and it was fascinating because that sort of gives the background story to him being from the DMV area (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia), how he was brought up and how this community area means so much to him and who he is as a tennis player. It’s kind of molded him.”
After Carbery brought Tiafoe on the ice to introduce him to the players at the end of practice, Wilson, van Riemsdyk and Lapierre took turns volleying with Tiafoe at center ice. Later, Wilson, Sandin and Oshie (using a hockey stick) attempted to return Tiafoe’s serve, which he launched from off the ice in the space between the benches. Lindgren dove to catch one of Tiafoe’s serves with his glove.
