Taylor Fritz’s rise to the top of tennis has been marked by a refreshing absence of theatricality. From lifting the United Cup trophy to gracing Milan Fashion Week for BOSS, Fritz embodies a quiet confidence, a focus on substance over spectacle. Now, he’s back in the spotlight, this time as the cover star, sparking a wave of admiration, including a heartwarming reaction from his influencer girlfriend.

Taking to Instagram, his girlfriend, since June 2020, Morgan Riddle posted an aesthetic snap revealing her lover’s face on the ‘Racquet’ magazine’s cover. The social media influencer’s story showcased the American player featured on the magazine’s “No. 26” edition front page, with a swimming pool and Wimbledon official towels highlighting the image. She also captioned the snapshot – “My lil cover starrr.” For those unaware, Racquet is a quarterly magazine that celebrates the art, ideas, style and culture that surround tennis.

Moreover, this wasn’t Fritz’s first rodeo. The 27-year-old has been on the cover of ‘Style Magazine’ and, also appeared on ‘Haute Living’ magazine’s August release of 2023. Fritz told the magazine at the time, I’m not satisfied with just being the best American player. I want to go even further. I want to be one of the best players in the world.”

However, the American superstar is struggling to find his momentum this year. He suffered a shock third-round exit at the Australian Open after Frenchman Gael Monfils stripped his quest for another Grand Slam run. He shifted his focus to the Dallas Open, where he was sent packing by eventual champion Denis Shapavalov and, a week after, lost in the quarterfinals of his title defence at the Delay Beach Open to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Looking at the 2025 season, Fritz isn’t planning on changing much. “Things have been going so well, I don’t think there’s any reason to. I’m a big believer in not changing a winning strategy,” said Fritz to Racquet in a January 2025 interview. Accordingly, Fritz might look for more opportunities for rest in the coming year: “I’d love to shorten up the schedule here and there. Maybe play a little bit less. That’s something I’m still learning about—how to feel like I have enough time to mentally reset between tournaments so I can show up motivated and ready to compete my best.” 

The World No. 4 recently pulled out of Acapulco after revealing that he’s been “playing through” an abdominal injury since before he jetted to Dallas. Fritz posted a sincere apology on Instagram explaining how much the Mexican ATP 500 event meant to him. “Really sad that I have to pull out of Acapulco this year. I’ve been dealing with an abdominal injury since the week before Dallas. I have been playing through the injury, hoping that it could get better because several parts of my game were and still are pain-free.” 

Despite such concerns, Fritz takes his job seriously. He loves what he does and hopes to continue feeling that way with a healthy approach.

Taylor Fritz says “winning” is the most enjoyable thing for him

American superstar Taylor Fritz, in his latest conversation with ‘Sports Illustrated,” discussed a variety of subjects, including his love for tennis. The 27-year-old revealed that working twice as hard gets him the most fun thing to do – winning.

“You know, when I can get deep into a tournament and have a big result, that’s fun I’m having. When I was younger, my career, like, five years ago … it was a lot more work, and more things I had to do, to play well,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s the best way to describe it, but I feel like I’m working harder and not having maybe as much fun, so that I can do what’s the most enjoyable thing and the most fun thing for me—which is winning and playing those big matches.”

For the uninitiated, the World No. 4 wrapped the 2024 season with an impressive 11-10 win-loss record against the Top 10 players – the most top 10 wins in his career – on the ATP. And now, with his home event in Indian Wells around the corner, Fritz says he hopes “that giving it (his abdominal injury) this week to rest and rehab will get me back to 100% soon.”

The American sensation won his first ATP 1000 Masters title in Indian Wells in 2022 by downing Spanish legend Rafael Nadal in the summit clash. If all goes according to plan, the American No. 1 might conclude his season’s title drought at the BNP Paribas.