Taylor Fritz suggested that the tennis balls contributed to a shoulder injury he sustained at this year’s Laver Cup.
In the 2024 Laver Cup, Taylor Fritz had some notable highs and lows as Team World’s highest ranked player.
Team World were initially tied 2-2 with Team Europe after Fritz and Ben Shelton secured a decisive doubles victory over Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-4.
This year’s US Open finalist, Fritz continued his streak against Zverev with his third singles win over the world number two since July.
However, in the final showdown, Fritz lost to Alcaraz, 6-2, 7-5, which led to Team Europe’s overall victory, securing their fifth Laver Cup title.
Taylor Fritz highlights the shoulder pain he suffered throughout the Laver Cup
The big serving American enjoyed his best run at a major in his career despite falling at the final hurdle to a formidable Jannik Sinner display.
Now ranked seventh in the world, two shy of his career high, Fritz looked sharp in his opener against Zverev, raising his level when his opponent couldn’t.
However, having been beaten in straight sets to Spain’s Alcaraz, he revealed that the tennis balls had caused a shoulder issue to develop.
“Something with the balls,” Fritz said in his press conference. “I have been having some tightness with my left shoulder. Noticed it after the first day. From hitting backhands it then gets tight and I struggle to toss the ball a bit.”
The big server continued: “It kind of lit up on me a bit in the second set of the match yesterday. I thought it felt better today and then after the first couple of games I felt it tightening up.
“It’s nothing crazy but I thought if I could take some painkillers and make me feel better I might as well.”
Taylor Fritz’s defeat to Carlos Alcaraz shows he’s still not quite ready for Grand Slam success
Rewinding to the US Open final, Fritz’s inability to properly capitalise on the biggest points and Sinner’s natural ability to do so was the sole difference between champion and runner-up.
While he was more clinical than Zverev this week, we are broadly talking about two players occupying the same terrain here.
Alcaraz and Sinner have burst onto the scene and scooped up two Grand Slams each this year.
The gulf between those two and the rest of the pack isn’t huge. As ever in tennis though, it’s their ability to raise their game at opportune moments rather than hang in there until the tension gets too high which separates them from the pack.
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