ATP Tour

Fritz's focus: How knee rehab took centre stage in offseason

Some ATP Tour stars will have used the offseason to work on technical aspects of their game, but Taylor Fritz had only a focus on physical recovery ahead of his 2026 season.

“I couldn’t really [target] anything,” Fritz told ATPTour.com in Perth when asked what he had been working on before beginning his season competing for Team USA at the United Cup. “I said at the end of the [Nitto ATP Finals], my goal was really just to try and rehab my knee. I still have pretty serious tendonitis, and that’s something that takes a really long time to get rid of.”

While the injury has been lingering, the No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings does not feel it is serious enough to warrant a complete break from competing on Tour.

“The demands of playing make it a lot harder to get rid of it, but at the same time I don’t really want to go full stop for four months to try to get it better when I feel like I can sometimes play through it,” said Fritz. “Sometimes it gets too bad to play through, but that was really the focus of the six weeks, just doing a lot of rehab and strengthening, and trying to lay out a base where I can maybe start to get it better.

“Maybe a couple of months into the season, I can be over it. That was really the main focus. Just hitting to keep my timing, keep my game, keep my feel, but not overdo it on my knee.”

Four Top-10 players lead the way at the United Cup to start the season 🙌

Read all about our season opener 👉 https://t.co/zoc27UiXcr@emirates | #ATPScoutingReport | #partner pic.twitter.com/B55d6JQtk8

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 2, 2026

While Fritz struggled with his body at times during 2025, he still delivered another rock-solid season as a Top 10 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. The American racked up a 53-23 record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, a tally which included title runs in Eastbourne and Stuttgart, and he also qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the third time.

“I think when I was healthy and playing, my level was really high,” reflected Fritz. “It’s easy for me to look at it and be like, ‘Well I finished No. 4 the year before and finished No. 6 last year’, but I spent probably two months of the season injured. I missed the clay-court season, came back from the injury and wasn’t really playing well. So I feel like I didn’t really get to play healthy, outside of Australia, until the end of the clay season.

“So it felt like my season kind of started on grass. Even after that, towards the end of the year, I had some issues as well I was dealing with. So I think just the level that I was producing when I was feeling good and healthy, it got me to where I finished the year. I think that is the main focus moving forward.”

Fritz has increasingly gained a reputation as one of the Tour’s most astute on-court thinkers, and he has often given open answers about tactics in press conferences. He revealed that, while he devises his game plans for each match in collaboration with his coach Michael Russell and the rest of his team, he also enjoys taking the lead when it comes to talking strategy.

“I would say the stuff that Mike brings to me is more the tendencies of my opponents,” said Fritz. “I could do a better job, I guess, of watching full matches of the people I am playing, but he’ll go through and pick out certain parts and show me what he wants me to look at. I trust him a lot on things like an opponent's tennis and what they are most likely to do in a big moment. I think that’s a really important thing.

“Then as far as structuring points and playing, it’s more I say what I think and hear their opinions. That’s kind of how it’s always been for me. I like to talk and break things down, and if any of my team disagrees with what I’m saying, I want to hear and want to know why they think that. And maybe why we don’t see it the same way. I feel like a lot of the times, when I give a breakdown of how I should structure a point, stuff like that, why I’m doing the things I’m doing, I feel like they do agree with me.”

Fritz, who will spearhead Team USA’s bid for a third United Cup crown alongside WTA Tour star Coco Gauff, was also clear-minded when asked about the storylines he would be keeping an eye on during the 2026 ATP Tour season.

“I think the biggest storyline is obviously the Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry, and if there’s going to be anyone who can step up and challenge that,” said the 10-time tour-level titlist. “I think that is the obvious one. Also seeing how a lot of guys progress. Seeing if any of the really young guys take a step all the way up to competing with Carlos and Sinner.

“I think that might be a little bit of a stretch so soon. I could be wrong, but regardless of that, I think there’s a lot of guys that could get there. Maybe not this year, but definitely take some big strides towards it. The guys I’m excited to see keep improving. The two that come to my mind are Joao [Fonseca] and Learner [Tien].”