Taylor Fritz

Taylor Harry Fritz (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He is the 2nd-fastest American ever to reach an ATP final, accomplishing the feat in just his third career event.[3]

Taylor Fritz

Fritz at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships
Full name	Taylor Harry Fritz
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Rancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S.
Born	(1997-10-28) October 28, 1997[1] Rancho Santa Fe, California, U.S.
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Turned pro	2015
Plays	Right-handed (two handed-backhand)
Coach	David Nainkin & Paul Annacone
Prize money	US$3,556,170
Singles
Career record	91–92 (49.7% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 24 (March 2, 2020)
Current ranking	No. 24 (March 2, 2020)[2]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	3R (2019, 2020)
French Open	2R (2019)
Wimbledon	2R (2018, 2019)
US Open	3R (2018)
Doubles
Career record	21–29 (42.0% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 120 (18 November 2019)
Current ranking	No. 124 (16 March 2020)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2019)
French Open	1R (2018)
Wimbledon	2R (2018)
US Open	2R (2016, 2017)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
US Open	1R (2014, 2015)
Last updated on: 22 March 2020.

His mother Kathy May Fritz was a Top 10 player, and his father Guy Henry Fritz also played professional tennis and was named US Olympic development coach of the year 2016.[4]He reached the finals in boys' singles at the 2015 French Open, and lost to fellow American Tommy Paul in three sets. He avenged the loss by defeating Paul in boys' singles final at the 2015 US Open.

Early life and background

Fritz was born the youngest of 3 boys to Guy Fritz and former world top-10 tennis player Kathy May. He is the great-great-grandson of David May, founder of The May Department Stores Company that merged with Macy's, and the great-grandson of Morton D. May.[5]

Fritz has two older maternal half-brothers, Chris and Kyle.[6][7]

Fritz grew up with his brothers in Rancho Sante Fe in the San Diego metropolitan area. He attended Torrey Pines High School, where he won the CIF singles title in the San Diego section as a freshman. A few months into his sophomore year, he switched to an online high school to allow him to play ITF junior events full-time.[8]

Junior career

Fritz did not play any ITF events until he was 15, when he competed in a low-level Grade 4 tournament in March 2013 in Claremont near where he grew up. He would not play another event until the 2013 Junior US Open, at which point he began to compete regularly on the ITF tour shortly before turning 16. Within the next year, he made it to the semifinals at the 2014 Junior Wimbledon tournament. He then won his first Grade A tournament at the 2014 Osaka Mayor's Cup.[9]

In 2015, Fritz reached at least the quarterfinal of all four junior grand slam tournaments, including the final at the French Open where he lost to Tommy Paul, and the final at the US Open where he defeated Paul [10]. This grand slam success helped him finish the year as the number one ranked boy's junior tennis player, for which he was named the 2015 ITF Junior World Champion. He was the first American to hold this title since Donald Young in 2005 and Andy Roddick in 2000.[11]

Professional

2015: Challenger Tour success

Fritz played his first ATP Tour tournament at Nottingham, where he received a wild card and won his first ATP match against Pablo Carreño Busta.[12]

In September 2015, Fritz turned pro after winning the Junior US Open. He quickly rose from the 600s into the Top 250 of the ATP Rankings by becoming the 9th player at age 17 to win multiple Challenger Tour titles – doing so in back-to-back weeks. The others to accomplish that feat include Top 20 players Bernard Tomic, Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, and Juan Martín del Potro as well as Number 1 overall players Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.[13]

2016: Surge into Top 100, First ATP Final

After losing in the final of his last tournament of 2015, Fritz reached a final again in his first tournament of 2016, this time winning against Top 100 player Dudi Sela at Happy Valley to catapult to a ranking in the 150s. In the following week, he made it through Australian Open Qualifying to reach his first main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, where he would lose in the 1st round to fellow American Jack Sock in five sets.

Fritz was awarded a wild card into his first ATP 250 tournament of 2016 at Memphis and knocked off the 2nd-seeded Steve Johnson, who at No. 29 was the highest ranked player Fritz had ever defeated. With his victory over Ricardas Berankis in the semi-final, he became the youngest American to reach an ATP final since Michael Chang in 1988, and also the 2nd-fastest American ever to reach an ATP final, doing so in just his 3rd career ATP tournament. John Isner is the only American that was able to reach an ATP final faster.[3][14] Fritz would lose in the final to three-time defending champion and Top 10 player Kei Nishikori. In February, Fritz cracked the Top 100 for the first time by reaching the quarter-finals in Acapulco at his first career ATP 500 event.

Fritz's grass court season was highlighted by a close three set loss to Roger Federer at Stuttgart. He would end up peaking in the rankings at No. 53 towards the end of the summer. At the US Open, Fritz drew Jack Sock in the first round of a grand slam for the second time this year, again losing in five sets.

To cap off the year, Fritz won the ATP Star of Tomorrow for being the youngest player in the Top 100, having just turned 19 years old.

2017: First Grand Slam match win

Fritz was able to achieve his first victory over a top ten ATP player at Indian Wells defeating sixth seed Marin Cilic in the second round. Fritz struggled through the first half of the year with injury problems, and ended up skipping the clay court season to focus on recovering.[15] He returned to form in the summer with quarterfinals at Los Cabos and Winston-Salem. In his seventh grand slam appearance, Fritz won his first match at a major tournament by knocking out Marcos Baghdatis at the US Open.

2018: Continued Tour success

After finishing 2017 just outside the Top 100, Fritz had a good start to the 2018 season, reaching two Challenger finals in January. He returned to the Top 100 of the ATP rankings by reaching the final in New Caledonia, though he lost there to Noah Rubin. Following a loss in qualifying at the Australian Open, he then won his first Challenger title in two years at the inaugural event in Newport Beach, not too far from his current residence in Palos Verdes. He continued his strong start by making it to the 4th round at Indian Wells, his first Round of 16 appearance at a Masters event.

Fritz kicked off the clay court season with a semifinals appearance at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, the best result on clay of his career thus far. In the tournament, he upset Ryan Harrison and Jack Sock before losing to Steve Johnson. This helped him get back to No. 66 in the world.

At the US Open, Fritz reached his first Grand Slam third round, defeating Mischa Zverev and Jason Kubler, before losing to 9th-seeded Dominic Thiem in four sets.[16]

Earlier in the season, Fritz began working with Paul Annacone, who helped him reach a career-high ranking of #47.[17][18]

2019: Top 30 breakthrough

Fritz made the third round at the Australian Open, losing to Roger Federer in 3 sets. Fritz then went on to win the Challenger at Newport Beach California; he defeated Brayden Schnur of Canada in the final in straight sets. In June, Fritz won his first ATP Tour title at the Eastbourne International tournament by defeating Sam Querrey in straight sets.

In the first round of Wimbledon, Fritz defeated Tomas Berdych in straight sets, before losing to Jan-Lennard Struff in four sets.[19]

At the US Open, Fritz was seeded 26th, his first-ever Grand Slam seeding. However, he lost to Feliciano Lopez in the first round.[20]

Fritz represented Team World in the third annual Laver Cup, held in Geneva. In his first singles match, he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas, 2-6, 6-1, 7-10.[21] Fritz bounced back on the final day of play, defeating Dominic Thiem, 7-5, 6-7(3), 10-5. [22]

At the Swiss Indoors, Fritz defeated 2nd-seeded Alexander Zverev in the first round, 7-6(9), 6-4.[23]

After achieving a career-high ranking of #25 in August, Fritz ended the year ranked #32 in the world.[24]

2020: First ATP 500 Final

Fritz began his season at the inaugural ATP Cup, representing Team USA. He went 1-2 in singles competition, as Team USA was sent out of the tournament in the round-robin stage. [25]

At the Australian Open, Fritz reached the third round, posting a five-set victory over Kevin Anderson. He was then defeated by eventual finalist Dominic Thiem.[26]

Fritz reached his first ATP 500 final in Acapulco, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. However, his runner-up showing propelled him to a new career-high ranking of #24.[27]

Playing style

Fritz possesses a dominant serve that can reach 149 mph, and solid groundstrokes off both wings.[28] One of Fritz's defining strengths is his ability to hit sharp angle cross-court shots on both the backhand and forehand sides. He also has a good topspin lob.[29]

Personal life

In an interview before Fritz played his first match against Roger Federer, he recalled watching the live stream of the 2009 US Open final between Federer and Juan Martín del Potro when he was in fifth grade.[30]

ATP career finals

Singles: 5 (1 title, 4 runner-ups)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1) ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–3)

Titles by surface Hard (0–4) Clay (0–0) Grass (1–0)

Titles by setting Outdoor (1–3) Indoor (0–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Feb 2016	Memphis Open, USA	250 Series	Hard (i)	Kei Nishikori	4–6, 4–6
Winner	1–1	Jun 2019	Eastbourne International, UK	250 Series	Grass	Sam Querrey	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1–2	Jul 2019	Atlanta Open, USA	250 Series	Hard	Alex de Minaur	3–6, 6–7^(2–7)
Loss	1–3	Aug 2019	Los Cabos Open, Mexico	250 Series	Hard	Diego Schwartzman	6–7^(6–8), 3–6
Loss	1–4	Feb 2020	Mexican Open, Mexico	500 Series	Hard	Rafael Nadal	3–6, 2–6

Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1) ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–1)

Finals by surface Hard (0–2) Clay (0–0) Grass (0–0)

Finals by setting Outdoor (0–1) Indoor (0–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Aug 2018	Los Cabos Open, Mexico	250 Series	Hard	Thanasi Kokkinakis	Marcelo Arévalo Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela	4–6, 4–6
Loss	0–2	Oct 2019	Swiss Indoors, Switzerland	500 Series	Hard (i)	Reilly Opelka	Jean-Julien Rojer Horia Tecău	5–7, 3–6

Challenger and Futures finals

Singles: 8 (5–3)

Legend (Singles) ATP Challenger Tour (5–3) ITF Futures Tour (0–0)

Titles by Surface Hard (5–3) Clay (0–0) Grass (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Oct 2015	Sacramento, USA	Challenger	Hard	Jared Donaldson	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Win	2–0	Oct 2015	Fairfield, USA	Challenger	Hard	Dustin Brown	6–3, 6–4
Loss	2–1	Nov 2015	Champaign, USA	Challenger	Hard (i)	Henri Laaksonen	6–4, 2–6, 2–6
Win	3–1	Jan 2016	Happy Valley, Australia	Challenger	Hard	Dudi Sela	7–6^(9–7), 6–2
Loss	3–2	Feb 2017	Dallas, USA	Challenger	Hard (i)	Ryan Harrison	3–6, 3–6
Loss	3–3	Jan 2018	Nouméa, New Caledonia	Challenger	Hard	Noah Rubin	5–7, 4–6
Win	4–3	Jan 2018	Newport Beach, USA	Challenger	Hard	Bradley Klahn	3–6, 7–5, 6–0
Win	5–3	Jan 2019	Newport Beach, USA	Challenger	Hard	Brayden Schnur	7–6^(9–7), 6–4

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Legend (Doubles) ATP Challenger Tour (0–0) ITF Futures Tour (0–1)

Titles by Surface Hard (0–0) Clay (0–1) Grass (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Feb 2014	USA F4, Palm Coast	Futures	Clay	Martin Redlicki	Markus Eriksson Milos Sekulic	1–6, 1–6

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	2015	French Open	Clay	Tommy Paul	6–7^(4–7), 6–2, 2–6
Winner	2015	US Open	Hard	Tommy Paul	6–2, 6–7^(4–7), 6–2

Singles performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

A

P

Z#

PO

G

F-S

SF-B

NMS

NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (P) postponed; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Current through the 2019 Stockholm Open.

Tournament	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	SR	W–L	Win%
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	1R	1R	Q2	3R	3R	0 / 4	4–4	50%
French Open	A	A	1R	A	1R	2R		0 / 3	1–3	25%
Wimbledon	A	A	1R	1R	2R	2R	NH	0 / 4	2–4	33%
US Open	Q1	Q1	1R	2R	3R	1R		0 / 4	3–4	43%
Win–Loss	0–0	0–0	0–4	1–3	3–3	4–3	2-1	0 / 15	10–15	40%
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters	A	Q2	1R	3R	4R	1R	NH	0 / 4	5–4	56%
Miami Open	A	A	2R	2R	1R	1R	NH	0 / 4	2–4	33%
Monte-Carlo Masters	A	A	A	A	A	3R	NH	0 / 1	2–1	67%
Madrid Open	A	A	Q1	A	Q2	2R	NH	0 / 1	1–1	50%
Rome Masters	A	A	Q1	A	Q1	2R	NH	0 / 1	1–1	50%
Canadian Open	A	A	1R	A	A	1R	NH	0 / 2	0–2	0%
Cincinnati Masters	A	A	1R	A	A	1R		0 / 2	0–2	0%
Shanghai Masters	A	A	2R	Q1	2R	2R		0 / 3	3–3	50%
Paris Masters	A	A	Q1	A	A			0 / 0	0–0	–
Win–Loss	0–0	0–0	2–5	3–2	4–3	4–5		0 / 15	13–15	46%
Career Statistics
	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	Career
Tournaments	0	1	22	13	18	28		82
Titles / Finals	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 0	1 / 3		1 / 4
Overall Win–Loss	0–0	1–1	15–22	13–13	23–20	28–27		1 / 82	80–83	51%
Year-end Ranking	1149	174	76	104	50			50.98%

Wins over top 10 players

• Fritz has a 6–16 (27.3%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.

Season	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Total
Wins	0	0	1	0	5	6

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	TF Rank
2017
1.	Marin Čilić	7	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	2R	4–6, 7–5, 6–4	136
2019
2.	John Isner	10	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	2R	7–6^(7–3), 7–6^(7–5)	50
3.	Fabio Fognini	9	Los Cabos, Mexico	Hard	QF	6–1, 7–6^(7–1)	28
4.	Dominic Thiem	5	Laver Cup, Geneva, Switzerland	Hard (i)	RR	7−5, 6−7^(3−7), [10−5]	30
5.	Alexander Zverev	6	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	1R	7–6^(9–7), 6–4	31
6.	Matteo Berrettini	8	Davis Cup Finals, Madrid, Spain	Hard (i)	GS	5–7, 7–6^(7–5), 6–2	32

World TeamTennis

Fritz has played three seasons with World TeamTennis, making his debut in 2015 with the San Diego Aviators. He has since played another two seasons for the Aviators, in 2018 and 2019. It was announced he will be joining the San Diego Aviators during the 2020 WTT season set to begin July 12 at The Greenbrier.[31]

References

1. "Taylor Fritz". ATP World Tour. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
2. ATP Rankings
3. "Taylor Fritz reaches Memphis Open final". February 13, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
4. "At 17, Taylor Fritz could be the next big thing in American men's tennis". July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
5. The Making of America’s Next Great Tennis Talent
6. https://books.google.com/books?id=FyAdAQAAMAAJ&q=%22kathy+may%22+%22don+paben%22&dq=%22kathy+may%22+%22don+paben%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiixtPF6InWAhURySYKHQ_fCu8Q6AEIKjAA
7. https://www.nextgenatpfinals.com/en/players/singles/taylor-fritz
8. "San Diego's Fritz not ready to turn pro". San Diego Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
9. "Fritz and Xu meet with success in Osaka". ITF Tennis - Juniors.
10. "US Open 2017". Daily Telegraph.
11. "Taylor Fritz and Dalma Galfi crowned 2015 ITF Junior World Champions". Retrieved January 10, 2016.
12. "Ferrer, Lopez Lead Nottingham Field". June 22, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
13. "Fritz goes back to back". October 19, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
14. "Fritz reaches Memphis Final". February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
15. "Fritz leads way as Americans launch a charge". Wimbledon. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
16. "2018 US Open – Men's Singles", Wikipedia, November 23, 2019, retrieved December 10, 2019
17. "Taylor Fritz, With Paul Annacone On His Team, Knows This Run Can Continue | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
18. "Ranking history of Taylor Fritz". CoreTennis.net. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
19. "Taylor Fritz - The Championships Wimbledon 2019". www.wimbledon.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
20. "Feliciano Lopez eliminates 26th-seeded American Taylor Fritz". August 26, 2019.
21. "Tsitsipas pushes past Fritz to give Europe a 2-1 Laver Cup advantage". Tennis.com. September 20, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
22. "Taylor Fritz Stuns Dominic Thiem At Laver Cup | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. September 22, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
23. "Taylor Fritz Upsets Alexander Zverev In Basel | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. October 22, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
24. "Ranking history of Taylor Fritz". CoreTennis.net. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
25. "2020 ATP Cup", Wikipedia, February 17, 2020, retrieved March 2, 2020
26. "2020 Australian Open – Men's Singles", Wikipedia, February 19, 2020, retrieved March 2, 2020
27. "Taylor Fritz Edges Closer To Top 20, Mover Of Week - FedEx ATP Rankings | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
28. "Is Fritz the future of American tennis?". USA Today. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
29. "Putting on the Fritz". Tennis.com. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
30. "Fritz Sets Federer Clash; Del Potro Makes Winning Return". Retrieved June 7, 2016.
31. "World TeamTennis Adds Stars Tiafoe, Puig, Roanic, Bouchard, & Sock As Rosters Set For 2020". WTT.com. June 16, 2020.

External links

• Taylor Fritz at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Taylor Fritz at the International Tennis Federation

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Andrey Rublev	ITF Junior World Champion 2015	Succeeded by Miomir Kecmanović
Preceded by Alexander Zverev	ATP Star of Tomorrow 2016	Succeeded by Denis Shapovalov