John Isner thinks Taylor Fritz has a problem in his game which may take a while to fix

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Taylor Fritz recently lost to Ben Shelton in the Stuttgart Open final.

Losing to his countryman in a final for the second time this year, Fritz remains trophy-less six months into the season.

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If Fritz doesn’t start picking up some big wins and titles, he could find himself outside the world’s top 10 before too long.

Former American ATP stars John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Steve Johnson have now identified one of Fritz’s biggest issues.

John Isner says Taylor Fritz needs to work on how he deals with drop shots

During the latest episode of ‘Nothing Major‘, Querrey asked the following question.

“I caught the whole third set of the [Taylor] Fritz final and all the highlights. [Ben] Shelton played a ton of drop shots against Fritz,” said Querrey.

“I remember at Roland Garros, [Nishesh] Basavareddy played a ton of drop shots against Fritz.

“Is that something that he needs to address?”

Former world number 21 Johnson certainly thinks so.

“Yes. It does not help that it’s the two hardest surfaces (clay and grass) to get up there and feel comfortable while you’re moving,” he said.

“A lot of the time, you can see Fritz not get a confident first step to get up to those drop shots against Shelton.

“It’s a play, and it’s out there. People will now be using it more against him. And for him, I think you have to find a way early in a match to win a couple of them.

“Maybe get closer to the baseline, even if it’s uncomfortable for the first 10 or 15 minutes of the match; stand close on return. Because if they do it early and it doesn’t work, you are going to go away from it.

“He has got to find a way to get that done early in the match and move on. But it is an issue at the moment.

“He is a top 10 or top five guy, and he will figure it out, and that door will close soon, I would assume.”

Isner isn’t so sure that Fritz will be able to find a quick fix for the problem.

“I don’t know. Nobody has ever said Taylor Fritz has the best hands in the world, so when that drop shot is thrown in there, he does not have the ability to re-drop,” he said.

“A lot of players have that ability. Taylor has one play, and that is that he shovels it up the line and then he’s at the net, and he’s not the best volleyer.

“It’s a very good play for him. It’s something he needs to work on, but I don’t think it’s something he can nip in the bud like that.

“It’s just not so natural for him to move up and then play a quick volley.

“He can be lobbed, and a lot of players can do so much if they hit a successful drop shot.”

If Fritz can’t sort that area of his game, his time at the top of men’s tennis might well come to an end.

Taylor Fritz is on course to finish 2026 outside the world’s top 20

When looking at the rankings, you wouldn’t know Fritz had struggled this year.

The 28-year-old sits eighth, safely inside the top 10.

Live ATP Rankings

However, when looking at the ‘Live ATP Race’, the problem becomes clear.

Fritz has accumulated fewer points this year than 27 other players.

As things stand, he will miss out on a spot at the year-end finals for the first time since 2023.

Live ATP Race

It is, however, important to remember that Fritz often earns the majority of his points on grass and hard courts in the second half of the season.

He could well work himself back into contention, but has certainly left himself with a lot of work to do.

This week, Fritz is competing in the Halle Open, in Germany.

Fritz will play Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the first round on Wednesday, June 17.