Taylor Fritz lost to Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, 4-6, 4-6, 2-6.
The American had been backed by many to reach the Wimbledon final, but came up short in the quarter-finals.
Fritz struggled physically during the match, as his knee issues resurfaced at the worst possible moment.
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During his latest press conference, Fritz issued a fitness update and recalled what happened in the match.
Taylor Fritz says he began ‘panicking’ when his knee started troubling him during the first set
“I kind of wish, I almost wish I knew before so I could have just, like, prepared to play a match where I was going to be kind of playing through it, because I felt like the whole first set I was, like I said, three games in is when I started feeling it. I was already down a break,” said Fritz.
“I was just like panicking, What am I going to do? I just didn’t expect it at all.
“The only signs I had were that I had some pain towards the very end of my match with [Alexander] Bublik.
Taylor Fritz’s 2026 Wimbledon campaign
- 1R [WIN] vs Dusan Lajovic, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- 2R [WIN] vs Patrick Kypson, 6-2, 6-2, 7-5
- 3R [WIN] vs Lorenzo Sonego, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6
- 4R [WIN] vs Alexander Bublik, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
- QF [LOSS] vs Alexander Zverev, 4-6, 4-6, 2-6
“I was already up two sets and a break.
“I thought maybe not the best sign that I was feeling it after that match, because it wasn’t super physical. But typically, it’s how tendinitis is. It gets irritated sometimes. You give it a little bit of a rest, and then it feels better.
“I expected, after a light day yesterday, to feel fine today. I felt fine, felt really good in my warm-up, actually. Felt like my warm-up was great. Then, yeah, I have no answers as to why three games in it was like that.”
Fritz was then asked how tough this defeat is to take.
“Yeah, it’s just sad,” he said.
“Also, I don’t want to take away from, like, how well he’s playing. I’m not saying the result would have been any different. Like, he was playing very aggressively, doing a lot of things that I’d say are big improvements to his game.
“He’s changing direction a lot with the backhand. He’s serving such a high percentage, good spots. Really pulling the trigger with the forehand.
“I mean, it would have been an incredibly tough match. I’m just really sad that I didn’t get the chance to, like, get into it, I guess.
“I felt like just because I was thinking about the knee, my focus was kind of all over the place.”
Fritz wasn’t able to play his best tennis in the quarter-finals, although as he rightly said, Zverev may have beaten him even if he had been at 100%.
The German was excellent from start to finish, advancing to his maiden Wimbledon semi-final where he will play the home favourite, Arthur Fery.
Fritz, on the other hand, will now rest up ahead of the North American swing.
Was Taylor Fritz’s grass-court season a success?
The 28-year-old is one of the best grass-court players alive and has already won five titles on the surface.
However, despite making deep runs at the three tournaments he played, Fritz failed to add to his tally in 2026.
Taylor Fritz’s record on grass in 2026 (11-3)
| Tournament | Performance | Wins | Defeat |
| Stuttgart Open | Final | 3 (Martin Landaluce, Mattia Bellucci, Alexander Bublik) | Ben Shelton |
| Halle Open | Final | 4 (Zizou Bergs, Fabian Marozsan, Ben Shelton, Alexander Zverev) | Frances Tiafoe |
| Wimbledon | Quarter-final | 4 (Dusan Lajovic, Patrick Kypson, Lorenzo Sonego, Alexander Bublik) | Alexander Zverev |
Fritz lost in the finals of the Stuttgart Open and Halle Open, and the quarter-finals of Wimbledon.
Those results have seen Fritz drop to 10th in the ‘Live ATP Rankings’, and while he has improved to 16th in the ‘Live ATP Race’, he remains a long way off the ATP Finals qualification places.
So with that being said, Fritz probably won’t see his 2026 grass-court season as a success or a failure; instead, he will likely reflect on the last few months as a missed opportunity.
