Taylor Fritz disappointed at not being nominated for Most Improved ATP Player of 2022 award
Taylor Fritz feels like he deserves at least a nomination in the Most Improved Player of the Year category at the 2022 ATP Awards.
The governing body of men's professional tennis released the complete list of nominees for different categories a couple of days ago. The four players who are in contention to win the award for maximum improvement this year are World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, America's Maxime Cressy, Britain's Jack Draper, and the 2022 Paris Masters winner Holger Rune.
25-year-old Fritz took to social media yesterday to express his disappointment at missing out on getting nominated in the category, given his exemplary performances in 2022.
"Feel like I could’ve been nominated for most improved.... not saying I should win it or anything crazy like that but maybe just a nom," Fritz tweeted.
Feel like I could’ve been nominated for most improved.... not saying I should win it or anything crazy like that but maybe just a nom twitter.com/josemorgado/st…
While the American began his season as the 23rd-ranked player, he broke into the top 10 in October and finished the year as the World No. 9. He won three singles titles in 2022 — the Indian Wells Masters, the ATP 250 Rothesay International in Eastbourne, and the ATP 500 Japan Open in Tokyo. His win-loss record stands at 46-21.
In a recent press conference after his semifinal loss at the ATP Finals, Taylor Fritz reflected on his season, saying that he proved that he belonged in the top 10.
"I think that I've proved that I belong in the top 10," Fritz said. "I just need to keep working hard. Fortunately for me, I think there's a lot of positives to take out of this year. I finished where I did and I missed pretty much the whole clay court season, didn't have any training going into the beginning of the hard court season. I was dealing with injuries, and I still was able to produce a really solid year. I'm just excited to kind of get back to work, keep improving, next year look to cement my spot even more."
Taylor Fritz supports Mardy Fish and Bob Bryan amidst gambling sanctions
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) on Tuesday fined US Davis Cup team coaches Mardy Fish and Bob Bryan for promoting gambling during the 2022 US Open. The two coaches, who had endorsed DraftKings, received fines of $10,000 apiece and suspensions of four months, which began on November 11.
Taylor Fritz called out the hypocrisy by pointing out that numerous tennis programs run special segments for DraftKings.
"Huh?!?! So tennis channel (and many others) can run special segments for draft kings, but as a coach you aren’t allowed to legally sports bet on another sport that has nothing to do with tennis?" Fritz tweeted.
Huh?!?! So tennis channel (and many others) can run special segments for draft kings, but as a coach you aren’t allowed to legally sports bet on another sport that has nothing to do with tennis ???? twitter.com/BenRothenberg/…