Taylor Fritz voices support for proposed new elite tour with only Grand Slams, Masters 1000 and ATP Finals events for top players
Taylor Fritz has voiced his support for a proposed elite tour for the top players which seeks to combine the four Grand Slams, 10 Masters events and ATP Finals while excluding other tournaments as part of a yearly calender.
Fritz reasoned that having separate tours would be good for the fans who could focus on the exclusive tour while the players would be spared from following a gruelling schedule like they currently do.
The plan to reform the tennis tour into different categories wherein players earn a spot to play on the premium tour while those in the lower slot vie to move up has been backed among others by Tennis Australia CEO, Craig Tiley.
“It’s a really good idea, and I think that we should have separate tours," Fritz was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald. "You can have 14 marquee events, and it makes tennis easy to follow for fans because all you have to pay attention to is those tournaments. There’s no people getting tons of points in between events, at like 250s and 500s and more than anything, there’s no crazy schedule for us players."
Taylor Fritz said that players in the main tour should only play all the tournaments that are part of that particular tour.
“If you’re on the main, top tour, you should be set to play all the big events, and they should all be slightly bigger-draw events to get basically everybody in the top 100 in, and I think that’s honestly all we should play," Fritz stated.
Titles at Delray Beach and Atlanta were the highlights of Taylor Fritz's 2023 season
After guiding the United States to a win in the inaugural United Cup, Taylor Fritz's Australian Open campaign was undone by Alexei Popyrin in the second round.
The Aussie wildcard lost the first-set tiebreak but stormed back to win the second set before inflicting a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-2 defeat on the American.
Taylor Fritz, who was the top seed at the Dallas Open, went down to Yu Wibing in the semifinals before reigning supreme at the Delray Beach Open. The 26-year-old beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 to clinch his fifth career tour title.
A three-and-a-half hour battle in Acapulco saw Taylor Fritz go down to compatriot and longtime rival Tommy Paul in the Mexican Open semifinal.
Fritz failed to defend his Indian Wells Open title after losing to Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, while Carlos Alcaraz ended his Miami Open campaign also in the quarterfinal stage.
Andrey Rublev proved to be too good for Fritz in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters. A disappointing third-round loss at the French Open was followed by a second-round exit in Wimbledon before Taylor Fritz won the 2023 Atlanta Open title.
A 1-6, 4-6, 4-6 loss to Novak Djokovic in the US Open quarterfinals was followed by early exits for the World No. 10 in the Asian Swing, the Swiss Indoors and the Paris Masters.