Taylor Fritz has revealed that he could take time to “slow down” and heal his knee injury following the conclusion of his campaign at the upcoming Miami Open.
World No 7 Fritz, the US No 1, has been dealing with a string of injury concerns in recent months, though struggles with tendonitis in his right knee have proven to be the most difficult to deal with.
The American was most recently affected by the injury in Indian Wells last week, where the seventh seed was shocked in round three by unseeded compatriot Alex Michelsen, who claimed a 6-4, 7-6(6) victory.
However, the 28-year-old had been in strong form just weeks before, reaching the final of the ATP 500 Dallas Open — where he had been playing without pain.
Speaking in his Miami Open pre-tournament press conference, Fritz detailed the unpredictable nature of the injury concern.
He said: “I’m still managing my knee. Some days it’s better than others, and I don’t know why exactly.
“In Dallas, for example, it felt amazing and it didn’t bother me at all the whole tournament. I felt like I was moving great.
“And then, in the lead-in to Indian Wells, it wasn’t. It felt like I almost regressed a little bit. Same thing happened in Australia [at the Australian Open], as well.”
Fritz is now set to be in action in Miami, the second half of the ‘Sunshine Double’, and the second Masters 1000 event of the 2026 season.
The Miami Open is set to be the final big tournament on hard courts before the US hard-court summer, with tennis switching to clay and then grass courts over the next few months.
Grass has been one of Fritz’s strongest surfaces in recent years, with the American winning the Stuttgart Open and Eastbourne International last summer — before progressing to the last four of Wimbledon.
However, clay is arguably his weakest surface, and he has comparatively fewer points to defend on the surface compared to on hard courts and grass courts.
Twelve months ago, Fritz skipped the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo and then did not reach the last eight of either the Madrid Open or Italian Open, before a round-one loss at Roland Garros.
And, the American has revealed that he would be willing to rest during this year’s clay swing if he does not see improvement with his knee during the Miami Open.
“This is kind of the cut-off,” added Fritz.
“We said, after Miami if we’re not seeing big improvements, it might be time to… just, like, slow down a bit on the playing and get it healed 100 percent.
“Because if there was a portion of the season that I think I’d be more OK missing, it would be the clay-court season, like I did last year.
“I think this week is going to be very telling for it. But, overall, it’s not bad.”
Fritz is set to be the sixth seed at the Miami Open this year, with the world No 7 up one place in the pecking order following Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal.
The 28-year-old was a semi-finalist in Miami twelve months ago, falling to eventual champion Jakub Mensik in the last four.
Like all seeded players in the draw, Fritz receives a round-one bye and will face either Denis Shapovalov or Botic van de Zandschulp in round two.
He is then projected to face 25th seed Jack Draper in round three and 11th seed Casper Ruud in round four, before a projected quarter-final against top seed and world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
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