Taylor Fritz did not make the start to the season that he would have wanted after losing his opening match of 2026 at the United Cup.
Fritz was beaten by Sebastian Baez in his first ever defeat to the Argentinian, despite winning the first set of the match.
This gave a lot of work for the USA to do, with Coco Gauff winning both of her matches to secure victory for her nation.
While the day ended positively for the USA, Fritz has been told there is an area of his game that needs to be improved.
Rennae Stubbs pinpoints the big weakness in Taylor Fritz’s game
Fritz is a former Grand Slam finalist, having finished as the runner-up at the US Open in 2024 after losing to Jannik Sinner.
However, he was unable to reach another major final in 2025, and six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs has suggested a reason why that may be.
Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner dominated the majors in 2025, and Stubbs believes that Fritz needs to improve his net game to match up to the top players on the ATP Tour.
Stubbs wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) when reacting to a point from Fritz’s defeat to Baez, “Been saying for years on my pod, if Taylor got more comfortable at the net he would win more!
“This point illustrates why not being comfortable there loses him matches! NO CHANCE you lose this point if you can volley well.”
What is preventing Taylor Fritz from winning a Grand Slam?
What Taylor Fritz said might happen after struggling with a knee injury
While Fritz may have made some mistakes during his defeat against Baez, it was also clear that he was not feeling 100% throughout the match.
This was confirmed in an interview after the match, where Fritz told the press that he was struggling with a knee injury which could force him to take a break later this year if it does not get better.
“I mean, I really just need to be playing points and be healthy. I think that’s the biggest thing,” said Fritz. “I spent the majority — pretty much the entirety of the off-season trying to rehab my knee tendinopathy, but that’s a thing that takes months and months to get better.
“You know, I didn’t get to play a lot of points because I’m trying to not push it too hard. So it’s just going to be a struggle of trying to get the reps in and get the points and matches in to start feeling like I’m comfortable while juggling that while still managing my knee pain because I’m going to try to play through and keep doing the rehab while traveling and getting better, but if that doesn’t work in a couple of months, then I am just going to have to full stop and fix it.”
Who will be the biggest disappointment at the 2026 Australian Open?
Fritz has just one day away from the match court before USA’s next tie, where they will take on Spain knowing that victory will send them into the quarterfinals.
This is where Fritz is scheduled to play Jaume Munar, against whom he won his only previous match against.
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