Taylor Fritz has been far from 100% so far this season.
Even before the year began, Fritz admitted he was struggling with knee tendonitis.
While managing that issue, Fritz picked up an abdominal injury during the Australian Open.
The Australian Open is the best Grand Slam… discuss!
Despite his fitness concerns, the American made it through to the fourth round in Australia, but it was there that his run came to an end.
Failing to reach the quarterfinals, Fritz lost to Lorenzo Musetti, 2-6, 5-7, 4-6.
Returning to the United States, Fritz has now issued an update on his knee and abdominal issues.
Taylor Fritz is ‘pretty optimistic’ about his knee
Answering fan questions on his latest Twitch stream, the former Grand Slam finalist said this about his physical condition.
“I’ve been training,” said Fritz.
“Injuries… we’ll see.
“I haven’t been playing tennis; I’ve been trying to rest my oblique a little bit.
“But I’ve been keeping up with my knee rehab, my knee actually feels pretty good, I’m hoping to be playing Dallas.”
Fritz plans to compete at the 2026 Dallas Open, an event he’d attend as the number-one seed.
Top eight seeds at the 2026 Dallas Open
- [1] Taylor Fritz
- [2] Ben Shelton
- [3] Casper Ruud
- [4] Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
- [5] Flavio Cobolli
- [6] Tommy Paul
- [7] Learner Tien
- [8] Denis Shapovalov
The 28-year-old believes he will be back on the court, fully fit, before too long.
“Knee feels pretty good, I’ve just been ripping cardio and doing all my knee rehab and doing some lifts,” said Fritz.
“I thought it was doing great at the Australian Open, too. In my first two matches, I thought my knee was amazing.
Taylor Fritz at the 2026 Australian Open
| Round | Opponent | Result | Score | Match time |
| 4R | Lorenzo Musetti | LOSS | 2-6, 5-7, 4-6 | 2hr, 3 minutes |
| 3R | Stan Wawrinka | WIN | 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 | 2hr, 46 minutes |
| 2R | Vit Kopriva | WIN | 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 | 1hr, 58 minutes |
| 1R | Valentin Royer | WIN | 7-5, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 | 3hr, 2 minutes |
“Then I felt it a bit against Stan [Wawrinka], then I felt it the entire match against [Lorenzo] Musetti.
“But it’s improved so much over the last month, I’m pretty optimistic.
“It’s 100% getting better.
“I really think two months from now, it’s going to be completely gone.”
That’s good news for Fritz, as he aims to charge back towards the top five.
Where is Taylor Fritz ranked now following the Australian Open?
Despite his fourth-round defeat, Fritz jumped two places up to seventh in the world rankings.
Live ATP Rankings
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1 | Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | 12,950 |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner | Italy | 10,300 |
| 3 | Novak Djokovic | Serbia | 5,280 |
| 4 | Alexander Zverev | Germany | 4,605 |
| 5 | Lorenzo Musetti | Italy | 4,405 |
| 6 | Alex de Minaur | Australia | 4,080 |
| 7 | Taylor Fritz | USA | 3,940 |
| 8 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 3,725 |
| 9 | Ben Shelton | USA | 3,600 |
| 10 | Alexander Bublik | Kazakhstan | 3,235 |
There’s not much separating him and the top four or five, either.
Fritz trails world number four Alexander Zverev by just 665 points.
He could close that gap within the next month or so, if he can make a few deep runs.
ATP Points distribution
| Tournament category | Winner | Finalist | Semifinalist | Quarterfinalist |
| Grand Slam | 2,000 | 1,300 | 800 | 400 |
| Masters 1000 | 1,000 | 650 | 400 | 200 |
| ATP 500 | 500 | 330 | 200 | 100 |
| ATP 250 | 250 | 165 | 100 | 50 |
Scheduled to play the Dallas Open and Delray Beach Open in February, two titles would earn Fritz 750 points, enough to potentially secure him a return to the top five.
Only time will tell how Fritz will perform in February, or if he will even be fit to do so.
The 2026 Dallas Open is scheduled to begin on Monday, February 9.
Then, the 2026 Delray Beach Open will start on Monday, February 16.
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