Taylor Fritz is finally back playing consistently after a difficult start to his 2026 campaign.
The American Grand Slam finalist developed knee tendinitis during the 2025 off-season; and the injury affected him through the first four months of the season.
Fritz ultimately took the decision to withdraw from the majority of the clay-court swing, before making his return at the Geneva Open.
Since participating in Switzerland, Fritz has competed in Roland Garros and the Stuttgart Open.
This week, he is playing in Halle.
Rennae Stubbs, who is working with Serena Williams, has offered her take on Fritz and his match fitness heading into the rest of the grass-court swing.
Rennae Stubbs disagrees with people labelling Taylor Fritz ‘soft’
“For Taylor, it’s about getting the fitness. It’s about getting match fit again,” the Australian said on The Rennae Stubbs Podcast.
“Because one of the things that he was so well known for, and I took umbrage with somebody on social media recently, who said something about Taylor being soft and all this sort of stuff.
“I’m like, are you… I mean, this listen, locker room reputation is certainly not Taylor Fritz is soft.
“I mean, this guy could be on the court for five hours. I mean, his fitness level was as good as anyone’s last year, which is why he did so well.
“So for me, it’s like, he couldn’t get the training again because his knee was all banged up at the start of this year and the end of last year, and that’s what hurt him getting the miles under his belt to be able to do it.
Taylor Fritz’s results since returning from injury
- Geneva Open: lost his opening match to Alexei Popyrin
- Roland Garros: defeated in the first round by compatriot Nishesh Basavareddy
- Stuttgart Open: reached the final before losing to Ben Shelton
- Halle Open: defeated Zizou Bergs and will play Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals
“So for me, I think maybe now everything’s settling a little bit, the relationship side of it settling, his body – he’fs back to getting back to a position where he can be on the court for three, four hours and not have any pain and be able to deal with it.
“And so for me, that just bodes really well for him, maybe going into Wimbledon, but more importantly for him going into the summer of the US swing, where we know he’s done really well, making a final at the US Open.
“So, I mean, listen, I really like Taylor. He’s a great guy, so is Ben [Shelton]. This is really good for men’s tennis in the US, and they need it.”
Stubbs couldn’t be more correct in her assessment. Anyone labelling Taylor Fritz as ‘soft’ is plain wrong.
Throughout his years on the Tour, Fritz has proven himself to be one of the most competitive, dogged players on the Tour.
This attitude has served him well, helping him to reach a major final at the US Open, and to secure the 2022 Indian Wells title.
Taylor Fritz’s record against Ben Shelton
Fritz began his Halle Open campaign on Thursday, beating Belgian player Zizou Bergs 7-6, 5-7, 6-4.
He will play Ben Shelton in the next round.
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Fritz won their first ever meeting at the 2023 Indian Wells Open, triumphing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the round of 64.
However, Shelton has since won three consecutive matches against Fritz.
All three of these victories have occurred in tournament finals: the 2025 Canadian Open, 2026 Dallas Open, and 2026 Stuttgart Open.
Shelton and Fritz will contest their third match of this year when they play each other in the Halle Open quarter-finals on Thursday.
