With the 2026 Australian Open just over a week away, fans are worried we won’t see Taylor Fritz in Melbourne.
Fritz, the world No. 6, represented his country at the United Cup 2026. On Saturday, he faced Argentina’s Sebastian Baez in the group stage. He fell short in a three-set thriller, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6.
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The former US Open finalist later revealed he was suffering from “pretty serious tendinitis” in his knee.
“I couldn’t really target anything” Fritz said. “My goal was just to try to rehab my knee. I still have some pretty bad tendinitis and it’s something that takes a long time to get rid of.”
Fritz did not say whether the injury would prevent him from participating in the Australian Open. If that’s the case, it can be argued that he shouldn’t give it his all in the United Cup.
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September 2, 2025; Flushing, New York, United States; Taylor Fritz (USA) waves to the crowd as he leaves the court after his match against Novak Djokovic (SRB) (not pictured) on day ten of the 2025 US Open tennis championships at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Fans question Fritz’s timeline.
“Why the hell are you participating if you are suffering so much from an injury 2 weeks before the first Grand Slam of the season?” » asked a fan.
“I hope he recovers and gets back into shape quickly,” a second fan wrote.
“Damn. I thought Taylor Fritz was a sleeper candidate to make a deep run at the 2026 Australian Open,” another fan said.
“Terrible news for Fritz ahead of Australian Open”, tennis commentator Jose Morgado said.
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Fritz isn’t ready to shut down, but he admits it could be an option if his knee injury doesn’t improve.
“I just need to play points and be healthy, that’s the most important thing. I spent most of it, almost all of the pre-season, rehabbing my knee tendinopathy, but it takes months and months to get better,” Fritz said. “I haven’t been able to play a lot of points because I’m trying not to push myself too much. It’s going to be a battle to get points and matches to start feeling comfortable while juggling that and dealing with the knee pain, because I’m going to try to play and continue the rehab as I travel and get better, but if it doesn’t work in a few months, then I’ll have to stop completely and fix it.”
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Hopefully Fritz can get as close to full strength as possible for the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2026 season.
This story was originally published by The yarn on January 3, 2026, where he first appeared in the Tennis section. Add The Spun as Favorite source by clicking here.
