Five Things To Know About Taylor Fritz

  • Posted: Apr 06, 2020

Five Things To Know About Taylor Fritz

Apr062020

Learn more about the 22-year-old American on and off the court

Taylor Fritz has steadily raised his level and his FedEx ATP Ranking. From reaching an ATP Tour final as a teenager to competing in the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, Fritz has proven he has plenty of game.

ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about the 22-year-old:

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1) Fritz has made history
At 2016 Memphis, an 18-year-old Fritz became the youngest ATP Tour finalist since Japan’s Kei Nishikori (18 years, 50 days) at 2008 Delray Beach. Fritz finished 2016 as the youngest player inside the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, earning recognition as the ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates.

In 2019, he made his breakthrough, winning his maiden tour-level title in Eastbourne, where he defeated Sam Querrey in the final. 

“It’s just an amazing feeling. I can’t even describe it,” Fritz told ATPTour.com at the time. “After waiting what feels like so long to win a title after almost winning when I was 18, over three years ago, it is just great to finally win.”

He is currently the No. 2 American, trailing only John Isner. Fritz is at a career-high World No. 24, which he first achieved on 2 March following a run to his first ATP 500 final in Acapulco. The 22-year-old beat Isner in the semi-finals at that event, ultimately succumbing to Rafael Nadal in the championship match.

2) He has high ambitions
Fritz broke into the world’s Top 25 when he was still 21. But the American is hungry to continue his climb.

“I just feel like I’m nowhere near where I want to be or where I should be,” Fritz said during the off-season. “I want to keep wanting to get better, wanting to beat more people, wanting to be higher-ranked.”

Fritz has always been a hard worker, but he is relentless in finding new ways to improve. He recently began cleaning up his diet — like eating egg whites with avocado for breakfast — among other things.

“Maybe before, the little stuff didn’t make that much of a difference. But I feel like now, for me to keep moving forward, I need to really commit in pretty much every single way, so I’m just trying to do everything I can,” Fritz said. “I think my mindset every morning is just to train as hard as I possibly can so when I get done that day, I could believe that I outworked everyone else.”

3) Fritz is a dad
In July 2016, Fritz married Raquel Pedraza, who played at all four junior Grand Slams as a player. Their first son, Jordan, was born on 20 January 2017.

Jordan does not travel to every event, but he was at last year’s Newport Beach Challenger when Fritz lifted the trophy, setting up the American for a big run in 2019.

4) Tennis runs in his blood
Fritz’s father, Guy Fritz, a former pro, was Taylor’s first coach. But Fritz’s mother, Kathy May Fritz, also helped build her son’s game. She was a Top 10 player and won seven WTA Tour titles.

“I’d say she’s a cool mom,” Fritz said.

When Fritz was 12, he competed in a prestigious mother-son event with his mom at a local club.

“One of the biggest mother-son tournaments in the country just happened to be in San Diego where I live. So, it was easy, we would just play it,” said Fritz. “My mom was a former Top 10 player and she still played a lot, so she was, for sure, the best mom in the competition.

“I was only 12 years old, so her and I were probably at a very similar level. She might have been better than me at the time. We were playing against a lot of college guys and older guys, so it was tough for me, but we got to the quarter-finals.”

5) He has a big interest in esports
With prize money, FedEx ATP Rankings points and career goals in mind, the stakes on the tennis court can be very high. That’s why Fritz likes to relax off the court by doing something completely different – playing video games, especially FIFA.

Not only has Fritz gotten to compete with gaming star Ninja, but last off-season he invested in ReKTGlobal, an esports business.

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