Copyright Essentially Sports
“He’s been around long enough. He’s played a bunch of Slams, and I feel like he’s a clean ball-striker, too,” Brad Gilbert, who guided Coco Gauff to her first Slam glory, said about Taylor Fritz last year before his US Open final against Jannik Sinner. Now, a year later, Fritz returns to the ATP Finals not as a contender but as a constant, a top-five force built on grit and precision. Ranked fourth and riding six straight wins over world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, Fritz edges closer to elite territory, yet Sinner and Alcaraz still tower ahead. And as he readies to face Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals, Gilbert once again finds himself awestruck by Fritz’s quiet fire. Ahead of Taylor Fritz’s opening match at the ATP Finals, Brad Gilbert offered a thoughtful breakdown of the American’s evolution on Gill Gross Shorts. The veteran coach admitted that Fritz’s unwavering consistency has caught him off guard. Despite the sport’s ever-changing tides, Fritz has managed to anchor himself among the world’s elite. “The tier that Alcaraz and Sinner are on, they’re on their own island. Then, you know, Djoker, who plays a limited schedule, the next one is Fritz and Shelton,” Gilbert explained, drawing clear lines across tennis’s current hierarchy. His voice carried genuine admiration as he added, “Fritz has surprised me, like this is his third consecutive year that he is where he is. Man, the guy is top five almost now, three straight years. He’s kind of starting to get into the (Nikolay) Davydenko, (David) Ferrer level, (Tomáš) Berdych level, where, like, he’s consistently kind of being there.” ADVERTISEMENT For Gilbert, it isn’t just about the results, it’s about the grit behind them. “He’s willed himself into being a great player. The results don’t lie,” he emphasized. “A very easy thing to say about tennis, the best availability is availability. And there are a lot of guys who maybe have that capability but haven’t been able to stay healthy. That guy has been able to punch in the time clock, and he’s been able to make results.” Fritz’s journey backs those words. Since breaking into the upper ranks, he has refused to fade, competing at the ATP Finals in 2022, 2024, and now in 2025. His record tells the story of persistence and polish, two titles this season alone, conquering the 2025 BOSS Open and Eastbourne Open, where he toppled Alexander Zverev and Jenson Brooksby in the finals. ADVERTISEMENT The Californian’s year has been a masterclass in steadiness: semifinal runs at the Miami Open, Wimbledon, and Canadian Open, plus quarterfinal finishes across Delray Beach, Geneva, Citi DC, and the US Open. For a player often overshadowed by the explosive rise of Alcaraz and Sinner, Fritz has carved his own lane, less flashy, more enduring. His is a career built on hours punched, not headlines earned. ADVERTISEMENT Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports And as Gilbert’s confidence in his protégé grows, Fritz himself is navigating turbulence off the court. The American recently addressed some behind-the-scenes drama that stirred frustration in his camp, hinting that even the most composed competitor must sometimes fight storms unseen. Taylor Fritz reveals hidden tennis rule limiting the sport Recently, in a revealing conversation with GQ, Taylor Fritz, currently ranked world No. 4, opened up about a reality that stretches far beyond the white lines of tennis. His words peeled back the curtain on the modern athlete’s double life: expected not only to perform at the highest level but also to produce endless streams of content. ADVERTISEMENT “The social media part is something that causes me a good amount of stress,” he confessed. Despite understanding its power in shaping image and sponsorships, Fritz was candid about the toll it takes. With 874k followers on Instagram, he acknowledged that number could have been far higher if not for the system working against him. “A lot of the tournaments are saying, ‘You either have to have won a Slam or have 1 or 2 million followers to even be allowed a videographer on tour,’ which I think is absurd,” Fritz said, calling out a rule that exposes a deep irony in the sport. Absurd, indeed. To film your journey, you must already be famous, but how does one gain fame without showing the journey itself? “How are you ever going to have a million followers if you don’t have someone capturing decent content to build your brand?” Fritz asked, his frustration echoing the feelings of countless athletes stuck in the same loop. ADVERTISEMENT In a sport that prides itself on global reach, players are often stripped of the chance to share the world they travel through. It’s not effort or creativity that’s lacking; it’s permission. And that, as Fritz made clear, is the real problem. As the off-court storm brews, the American steps into the spotlight at the 2025 ATP Finals, ready to face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in the group stage opener. Their rivalry stands at 3-2 in Fritz’s favor, but this battle promises something more: a player reclaiming control, both on and off the court.
