Taylor Fritz’s 2026 season has been a difficult one, with injuries and setbacks disrupting his rhythm right from the start.
Fritz began the year dealing with a persistent knee injury and, after playing through it for a while, decided to skip most of the clay-court season in order to heal properly.
He did make it back in time for Roland Garros, but his early exit wasn’t a shock to anyone. Andy Roddick even said he expected that result.
The hope now is that his lighter schedule has given him enough time to recover fully as he heads into the part of the year that suits him best – grass season.
But things didn’t get off to an easy start in Stuttgart either, where he just managed to get past Martin Landaluce in three close sets.
Taylor Fritz reflects on hard-fought win to open grass season
Speaking on court after edging through in a third-set tiebreak, Taylor Fritz gave his thoughts on how he performed: “I think towards the end of the match I started playing better. I felt like I was getting better the whole match. I definitely started having more fun in the end.
“I think the first bit was a bit more frustrating.”
When asked about what areas need attention, he replied: “I mean, I think sometimes you just have to play yourselves into the tournament.”
“It’s tough to work on, I think some of the things… It’s, you know, some of those big moments.
“I had a lot of chances, and I wasn’t able to convert or sometimes hit the shots I wanted to hit. But as the match went on, when I’m… like I said, I feel like I started playing better and better, so that it gives me a lot of confidence going into the next match.”
The interview wrapped up by mentioning that this win was his 350th on tour. While appreciative, Fritz is already looking ahead: “I didn’t know but it’s cool,” he said. “But my goals are definitely higher than 350 wins.”
Taylor Fritz’s track record on grass
Not many players would name grass as their favourite surface, and even fewer have the numbers to back it up. Fritz, though, is one of the rare exceptions.
Back in 2024, his coach, Michael Russell, said: “I feel that he believes that he is one of the best grass-court players in the world.”
And there’s substance behind that belief. Even looking at Fritz’s overall win rate, it’s a narrow margin between his results on hard courts and grass – with 66.67% on grass compared to 66.82% on hard.
Given that half of his ten ATP titles have come on grass – a surface that makes up such a small fraction of the calendar – it’s clear why he holds it in such high regard.
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