The ‘New Gen’ American Taylor Fritz makes fans crave for more for his strong serve and forehand. Ending the 2024 season, being the top American seed with a career-best ranking of No. 4, Fritz has had the best year at ATP tours since his debut. However, what about his Grand Slam success? Getting so close to winning it this year at the US Open finals, he lost against the current top seed Jannik Sinner. Being critical of his gameplay and career highlight, former tennis legend Jimmy Arias exposed what goes missing in Fritz.  

Consecutive Delray Beach title, third Eastbourne Open title, and a Bronze medal at the Paris Olympics doubles-this is how Frtiz 2024 season looks. In tennis great Jim Courier’s eyes, “The guy’s improved his movement, he’s gotten stronger – you don’t have to question his fitness. Now it’s about maintaining what you’re doing well and making minor improvements on things.” However, Fritz’s loss at the US Open, where he struggled against Sinner’s defensive counter-attacking style, has raised concerns about his athleticism. Does he possess the physicality to consistently compete at the highest level? Arias has a take on Fritz’s in-court playing behavior.

Speaking to KickServeRadio.com, retired tennis great said, “Well, obviously the thing with him its a bit strange. Athletically, he doesn’t seem to be at the same level as the guys(Alcaraz and Sinner) that we are talking about. Having said that, his movement has improved remarkably from when I first saw him when he first played in the tour as 18 years old. I remember thinking he’s got a big four-hand, a big backhand, and a big serve, hits the ball clean as you like, but he’s never gonna be athletic enough to really get to the very top of the game. He’s gotten very close to the very top of the game and now I think that the form he’s going, it’s hurting him in some ways as he’s pretty stubborn and he’s also very confident.”

He also added “He believes he can beat these guys (Alcaraz and Sinner) playing the style he plays from the back of the court and he hasn’t embraced that his mid-court game and his volley game aren’t up to the level that needed to be. And until he accepts that he needs to be able to volley a little bit better, needs to take the short ball early come in, and be confident enough to the net, its going to be difficult for him to beat those couple of players.” 

Hence, a stronger gameplay is required to beat his formidable rivals. Stubbs, Fritz and his coach agree to it.  

Stubbs’ “interesting story” about Fritz’s volleys

Despite playing scintillating tennis at the highest level, Fritz’s performance against the world’s best has been average. The only time he beat Sinner was in 2021 at the ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, losing the other four. Similarly, the American has lost both of his matches against Alcaraz. Per Rennae Stubbs, Taylor Fritz needs to improve his net game to compete with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. “I have an interesting story,” she said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast in early December.

“He and I have talked back and forth sometimes on Instagram and various things and I did mention to him, I am always pushing him to go forward with his volleys…I think he needs to understand that, yeah, you might not need volleys to win all matches but I am telling you right now that you need them if you want to win a Grand Slam. I hope he proves me wrong and wins a Grand Slam at the back of the court and never needing to hit a volley under pressure!” Fritz himself is also hoping to disrupt the dominance of the top players in the sport.

As per Tennis 365, “It just so happens that I’ve been improving a lot over the last couple years and I’m playing great tennis. I’m excited about a lot of the things I think I can still improve on, that I’m working on. I feel like almost every part of my game has gotten better the last couple of years. Definitely feeling more confident with my forehand, my serve, my return. I’ve been moving better, playing better defense. I’ve been able to come to net and finish some points, which obviously still working on. There’s been a lot of things.”

His award-winning coach Michael Russell also shared his opinion about the player before the 2025 season that is going to be unveiled at the Australian Open. “I’m definitely more focused on the process-oriented goals and just making sure Taylor’s getting more work in the gym and faster on the court, and just becoming more of a complete player all around. I think the results will speak for themselves and they will come. That’s been a focus that I’ve been on since the beginning since we first started working together at the end of 2021,” he added. 

Do you align with Arias’ words on Taylor Fritz? Tell us in the comments.