By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, January 16, 2026
Photo credit: Valerio Pennicino/Getty
Taylor Fritz has elevated his serve to elite levels—and values flooring it on and off court.
Fritz played brilliant all-court tennis racing past Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2, at Laver Cup last September.
The ninth-ranked Fritz will play for speedy knockout—and a $1 Million prize pool—at the MGM Slam on March 1st.
An elite eight-man group will play the MGM Slam at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Led by 2024 US Open finalist Fritz, the 10-point tiebreaker knockout singles-format event will begin at 4 p.m. PT.
Joining the former U.S. Open finalist will be fellow American Tommy Paul, currently ranked No. 20 in the world, Norwegian superstar Casper Ruud, popular Australian Open star Nick Kyrgios, Brazilian’s fan favorite Joao Fonseca, entertaining Frenchman Gael Monfils, Italian sensation Lorenzo Musetti and Kazakhstan’s flamboyant Alexander Bublik.
Tickets for the MGM Slam are on sale now at via AXS.com.
We caught up with Fritz for this Zoom call interview last night in which he discusses his return to Las Vegas, the state of his cranky left knee, his status for this month’s Australian Open and what he learned from his impressive Laver Cup win over Alcaraz.
The pair squared off again in the ATP Finals in November. There, Fritz pushed the world No. 1 to the limit—and his body to the breaking point—in Turin.
The top-seeded Alcaraz dispensed creativity and forward finishing skills fending off Fritz 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 in a dizzying drama.
Afterward, Fritz conceded tendinitis left his cranky knee feeling “completely cooked.”
“I mean, there’s definitely frustration ’cause, like I said, I felt like I had my opportunities. I mean, to be completely honest, it’s just the flatness is just my knee. My knee’s completely cooked,” Fritz told the media in Turin in November. “There’s nothing I can really do.”
Ongoing tendinitis limited Fritz to about one hour of on-court practice time per day during the offseason.
Still, with rest and rehab, Fritz believes the knee pain will be manageable as he aims to make a deep run at the Australian Open starting this weekend.
The ninth-seeded Fritz opens the AO against Frenchman Valentin Royer and resides in the third quarter of the draw along with 10-time AO champion Novak Djokovic and fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti.
Here’s what the 28-year-old Fritz had to say about his health, his tennis hopes and how he developed one of the world’s most imposing serves.
Tennis Now: Taylor, I know you played the MGM Slam in Vegas last year. What were the biggest reasons you wanted to come back and play it again in March this year?
Taylor Fritz: I really think just bringing tennis to Vegas is so immense. It’s really cool. The crowd is always amazing. It’s a great place to hold an event like this. So, you know, I’m excited to come back.
Tennis Now: What’s the most fun or unusual experience you’ve had in Vegas off court?
Taylor Fritz: I haven’t actually spent that much time in Vegas off the court. I’d say going to F-1 this most recent one—that was an incredible experience. It was really cool. I got to meet a lot of people.
Tennis Now: How is your knee feeling? Will it be a variable at the Australian Open? Or will it be manageable at the Australian Open?
Taylor Fritz: It’s feeling pretty manageable right now. I think, you know, the last week or two I’ve seen a lot of improvement in it. It’s something that I just have to keep up with the rehab and the strengthening.
It takes a lot of time, but if the last couple of weeks have shown me anything, it’s that I can still be playing while the knee is improving. So I do feel like I’m in a lot better place than I was and that [the knee] has been in. So I think it should be manageable.
Tennis Now: Taylor, you’ve had some big results at Slams, including the US Open final. Do you change your approach for a Slam compared to a non-Slam? What’s your goal for the Australian Open?
Taylor Fritz: My approach is always the same. Take it one match at a time and focus on the person in front of me. Just being locked in, which isn’t too hard at such a big tournament. I really need to focus hard and just take it one at at a time.
Tennis Now: I thought you played an outrageously good match against Alcaraz at Laver Cup. What was it like working with Andre Agassi there? What can that match do you for you going forward even though it’s two-out-of-three and not three-out-of-five like Australia?
Taylor Fritz: Andre was awesome. I think it’s just his love for tennis and excitement for it. I mean, Andre just being there on the sideline was so cool—he’s someone I looked up to a lot as a kid. It’s a really cool experience to get to do that.
I’d say a match like that one, it gives me confidence that those guys are beatable and I possess the level to challenge them when I’m playing well. And if I keep improving, it’s not out of my reach, I guess.
Tennis Now: You possess one of the greatest serves in the world. In 2025, you led the ATP in total aces and you were second behind Sinner in service games won at nearly 90 percent, quite impressive. Who was your serving inspiration growing up? Can you share a a couple of tips for developing and sustaining a great serve?
Taylor Fritz: Yeah, for sure, for me, I always looked up to Sampras. I think the serve is a lot of components coming together, including a good base, good balance, weight transfer, good rhythm. I think all of those things coming together makes for a really good serve.
Tennis Now: When you’re playing your absolutely best tennis, what is working right for you?
Taylor Fritz: When I’m playing my best tennis, I’d say my forehand is very on. When I’m playing my best, I can be very aggressive and take a lot of chances and attack with my forehand and I don’t feel like I’m going to miss much. So when I’m playing great, everything’s working, but the forehand feels like a huge weapon.
Tennis Now: Last question: What is your goal for the 2026 season?
Taylor Fritz: My goal is I want to be healthy and try to train at the capacity that I want to be training at without feeling like I’m going to hurt myself.
It’s been frustrating having to manage the load with the [knee] issue. So I want to get back to training at 100 percent so I can compete at 100 percent. And when I do that, obviously the goal is to have big results at big tournaments. You know, win a big tournament.
Tennis Now: Thanks very much for taking the time to chat with us, Taylor. Best of luck to you for the upcoming season.
Taylor Fritz: OK. Thank you.
