'It's going to be a battle': Is Taylor Fritz in danger of missing the AO?

(Getty/Antony Dickson)

There are grave fears that 2024 US Open finalist Taylor Fritz will be forced out of action for a substantial period after the same injury problem occurred in his shock defeat at the United Cup.

Fritz, who is the top-ranked American male competing for the defending champions, suffered a 6-4, 5-7, 4-6 loss at the hands of Argentina's Sebastián Báez at Perth's RAC Arena on Saturday night.

HEAD has partnered with the Kooyong Classic for 2026. HEAD will be on-site with all their latest products, including the launch of the new Revolt Pro 5.0. Visit the HEAD tents at the Kooyong Classic from 13-15th January to do a fit test on the new Revolt Pros.

Despite the sluggish start, Coco Gauff picked up the pieces to win her singles and mixed doubles matches, giving the Americans a 2-1 win in the tie.

"This is not how I want to start the year," Fritz stated post-match. "I felt a bit rusty. He raised his level, especially in the third set, but also at times in the second.

"The first set, for both of us, was not of a high standard; we both made many mistakes. In the end, in the first set, I won because I placed balls on the court and he made mistakes. He started to reduce errors, being very consistent, but also dictating and being able to attack."

At November's ATP Finals in Turin, the former world No.4 admitted that his knee was "completely cooked".

"I've had tendinitis all year long," Fritz told the press after his loss to Carlos Alcaraz. "Initially, the pain was mostly felt after matches, but recently it has interfered during play. It was never an issue before, but since then, I've struggled to play back-to-back days without it flaring up."

After his match against Báez, the American told ATP Tour: "I still have pretty serious tendonitis, and that's something that takes a really long time to get rid of. The demands of playing make it a lot harder to get rid of it, but at the same time, I don't really want to go full stop for four months to try to get it better when I feel like I can sometimes play through it.

"Sometimes it gets too bad to play through, but that was really the focus of the six weeks,  just doing a lot of rehab and strengthening, and trying to lay out a base where I can maybe start to get it better."

It remains to be seen whether the 28-year-old will feature in Team USA's final round robin fixture against Spain on Monday.

With the Australian Open just two weeks away, Fritz is in a race against time to be fully fit for the first Grand Slam of the year.

"I just need to play points and be healthy; that is the most important," he said.

"I spent most, practically the entire preseason, rehabilitating my knee tendinopathy, but it takes months and months to improve. I couldn't play many points because I try not to push myself too much.

"It's going to be a battle to get points and matches to start feeling comfortable while juggling that and still managing the knee pain, because I'm going to try to play and continue with rehab as I travel and improve, but if that doesn't work in a couple of months, then I'll have to stop completely and fix it."

The Kooyong Classic returns to the spiritual home of Australian tennis from January 13-15, 2026.

Each year, the Kooyong Classic features the world’s best players in their final preparation for the Australian Open. 

The 2026 event will feature Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Bublik, Nick Kyrgios, Karen Khachanov, Flavio Cobolli, Frances Tiafoe, Learner Tien, Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz, Marin Čilić and Zhang Zhizhen, alongside Donna Vekić and a special guest appearance Daniela Hantuchová. More to be announced in coming weeks.

Tickets on sale now through Ticketek/www.kooyongclassic.com.au

Hospitality packages can be viewed on the Kooyong Classic website and purchased by contacting info@kooyongclassic.com.au.