Taylor Fritz shares self-deprecating reaction to turning 25
On October 28th, American tennis sensation Taylor Fritz celebrated his 25th birthday, days after winning the Japan Open title and breaking into the ATP Top 10 rankings.
Fritz received well wishes from all around the world, including ATP Tour officials, who took to Twitter to wish him a very happy birthday. He later reposted their tweet and reacted ironically to his 25th birthday.
"25 wtf," he wrote, adding a bunch of party popper emoticons.
🥳🥳🥳🥳 25 wtf twitter.com/atptour/status…
The 25-year-old is widely considered the future of American men's tennis. He has won four ATP Tour singles titles, including a Masters 1000 title at the Indian Wells Masters in 2022. In a Grand Slam tournament, his best result was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Fritz recently defeated compatriot Frances Tiafoe to win the 2022 Japan Open, his third title of the year. After two hours on Tokyo's hardcourts, the American won 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to win his fourth career title overall.
With his triumph, he has now become the first American to enter the top 10 since Jack Sock in November 2017. When the rankings were released afterwards, he became the World No. 8, and currently holds the 10th position in the rankings.
Welcome in the Top 10 🎉
Taylor Fritz is the 1st US player since John Isner 3 years ago to hit this milestone. He's now World No.8 (+3). https://t.co/PIWskV6bfq
"Many times I hear people say, 'Wow, you get paid to lose? I should become a pro tennis player'" - Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz recently gave an interview to Resident magazine's "The Style" issue, where he discussed several facets of living as a top-tier professional tennis player. The American claimed that one of the most common misconceptions about tennis players is that people believe it is simple to generate money after losing in the early rounds of big tournaments.
Although players are even paid for first-round exits, the 25-year-old claimed that getting to the top of the world rankings requires a tremendous amount of effort to gain direct entry into the main draw of big tournaments.
"I guess the other big misconception is that we get paid to lose," Taylor Fritz said, adding, "While we do make moncy even if we don't win, we have to rank at the top of the sport to even be in the big tournaments. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say, "'Wow, you get paid to lose? I should become a professional tennis player.'"
"I know thecy don't mean any harm. But it takes hard work and sacrifice to rank high enough to "get paid to lose" and for the record, as profes- sional athletes, none of us is in this sport wants to lose," he said.