‘I just hated playing Tennis’ – Taylor Fritz on being ‘bribed’ by his dad to get him on the court as a child

Although Taylor Fritz has had his best year as a professional Tennis player in 2024, the American did not always have a love for the sport.

Fritz reached the 2024 US Open final, losing to World No.1 Jannik Sinner. However, the 27-year has accomplished much in his career, climbing to a career-high ranking of World No.5. Additionally, Fritz qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals, where he defeated former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev in his opening group stage match.

Tennis was never his first love, says Fritz

Although the 27-year old has had much success in his profession, he admits to not being initially invested in the sport during his childhood, stating his tennis coach dad had to “bribe” him to get on a court.

“I just hated playing tennis and I wanted to play every other sport,” Fritz said. “But it ended up working out because once I got a little bit older, I started to enjoy it more.
“I didn´t like practicing tennis when I was a kid. But I loved playing tournaments. I love getting out there and competing. And I started to see it in that way and I started to enjoy the hard work.”

After developing a love for the sport, the San Diego native took to emulating American tennis great Pete Sampras, who also happens to hail from California.

“I lift my toe up on my left foot – that´s literally just because I tried to copy his serve and he would do that,” Fritz said. “It really doesn´t look very similar. It´s kind of my version of what I came up with after watching his serve.”