Taylor Fritz has endured an injury-hit start to the 2026 season, yet he continues to be ever-present on the tour.
After all, his determination and hunger to remain at the apex of the sport are admirable, even if some call it into question.
There have been some rather vocal critics of his decision-making this year though, with CoCo Vandweghe one such pundit.
And, whilst she is likely only looking out for his best interests, she did not hold back in her assessment of his desperation to play despite his various injury concerns.
Taylor Fritz told he needs to take a break from playing tennis
Speaking on the Tennis Channel’s Big T podcast, Vandeweghe had some strong words to say about Taylor Fritz’s insistence on playing despite his injury struggles.
She began by boldly claiming: “I think it’s stupid. I think it’s stupid because he had that knee injury that he had surgery on.
What is preventing Taylor Fritz from winning a Grand Slam?
And I know it’s a different injury and the oblique, but he’s way too young to be pushing himself through these injuries at these tournaments.
“I think, come a Grand Slam, absolutely. Push through it.
“But he knows that Indian Wells is one of his favourite tournaments, his biggest tournament for him in his mind, knowing Taylor, as I do, growing up with his dad, Guy Fritz, as my first coach, going to the desert was his second home, and he wants to play well there. So why would you sacrifice a run of back-to-back, like he did when you are pulling up to Australia, already injured? That, to me, just doesn’t make any sense.”
Brad Gilbert did come to his defence though, playing devil’s advocate as he argued: “I call the most important thing for a player is learning how to manage yourself and manage the schedule. And sometimes the hardest part to manage is when you’re not doing well.
“And then when you’re doing well, now all of a sudden, sometimes you can kind of cheat your body a little bit. Delray, he’ll get a bye, he’ll start a little bit later.
How would you solve the tennis injury crisis?
“You know, sometimes too, if you lose early, you catch a little break, but then maybe he’ll get to the clay season, he’ll take one of those tournaments off.”
However, Vandeweghe interjected to claim: “There’s no chance he takes a week off come the clay court season, plus, I don’t know this, but he’s getting probably guarantees at Dallas and Delray to show up and play. So how much does money talk and everything else walks? “Only he can answer that, but you know what’s happening. There’s no way he’s not getting paid something out at both of those American events.
“I think he plays everything come the clay-court season and everyone’s pulling their hair, all the same, because it’s what happened last year.”
Which injuries is Taylor Fritz currently playing through?
Fritz has spoken at length about his injuries, yet he is not looking for sympathy.
His honesty is refreshing, and with his knee injury, the American has admitted that rest will simply not solve the problem.
He recently claimed: “Everyone’s yelling at me to stop playing, stop playing through with the rest. I get it if it’s an injury that you just rest and you feel better. I’ve been through that before.
“This isn’t an injury that gets better with rest. If I go home and do nothing, my knee will actually get worse.”
However, the same can’t be said for his latest oblique issue, which he claimed was ‘killing’ him at the Australian Open last month.
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