The 2025 season is winding down, and Taylor Fritz is cooking up a fresh motivation plan. The American No.1, ranked No.5 in the world, has had quite a ride this year. He reached the later rounds of the Grand Slams, sparking real hope that an American might finally lift a major again since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open, where he beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. Fritz has come close before, especially last year in New York, but the big one is still just out of reach. Now the question is: what’s next?

This year has been a mixed bag for the 27-year-old, especially at the Slams. He opened with a third-round exit at the Australian Open, followed by a shocking first-round loss at Roland Garros. Things kicked up after that. He made waves at Wimbledon, where he was the only American man to reach the semifinals, then backed it up with a quarterfinal run at the US Open. On top of that, Fritz added two titles in Eastbourne and Stuttgart. He’s kept himself in the Top 5 of the ATP rankings all season. Not bad at all, right?

In a chat with Olympics.com, Fritz revealed the next step in his climb. “For me the first goal and the main goal is to win a Grand Slam and I think if I am able to win a Grand Slam, then that’s maybe something I can think about afterwards, is trying to become the World No.1,” Taylor Fritz said.

Fritz made his run to last year’s US Open final by seizing the opportunity left behind after shocking early exits from Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. He powered through the draw, taking out 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals after knocking off eighth seed and 2022 finalist Casper Ruud in the last 16.

The American has shown his caliber this season. He’s already been a Slam finalist, but as history shows, US men have kept hitting the same wall for years. What stands between Fritz and that elusive trophy? Right now, it’s the reign of Alcaraz and Sinner. As he admitted, “If it’s not going to be just Carlos and Sinner then yeah, there’s only right now a handful of people that you might be able to contest. And I’m working really hard to be one of them.”

Taylor knows the challenge well. He’s faced Jannik Sinner several times but only beaten him once, back in 2021 at Indian Wells. Against Alcaraz, however, the tide may be shifting. Fritz finally got the better of him just last week at the Laver Cup, where he stunned the Spaniard in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 during the round robin.

Now, the target is clear. Fritz has his sights on a Slam and then a run at World No.1. Could 2026 finally be the year? Only time will tell. For now, analysts might have figured out what Fritz needs to take them down.

Insiders weigh in on Taylor Fritz’s form against top players

On the latest episode of the Australian Open TV podcast, Tennis Australia’s data expert Simon Rea shared his take on Fritz’s game. He noted how Fritz has figured out ways to handle slower courts and knock off big names. What really stood out to him, though, was Fritz’s new determination to play more aggressively. Rea called it “really instructive,” but added that leaning too often on his safe, consistent game, what Fritz himself teased as “my joke this year, that I’m a bot that pushes”, still isn’t enough to rattle the sport’s heaviest hitters.

The stats prove it. Taylor Fritz trails 1-3 against Carlos Alcaraz. He’s 1-4 versus Jannik Sinner, losing their last three matches in straight sets over the past year and a half. And Novak Djokovic? A brutal 0-11. Those numbers led Rea to dig deeper into the obstacle holding Fritz back, and he landed on one key detail.

“I think he’s caught a little bit between on his second serve. So all of those players are able to impact on his second serve,” Rea said. He pointed out that Fritz would likely admit his athleticism, physicality, and movement aren’t on the same level as Alcaraz, Sinner, or Djokovic. So he plays best when dictating points. The problem? Even when his second serve reaches mid-160s km/h, it doesn’t bite.

“They get an opportunity on the second serve, where he comes unstuck against them. He’s very predictable generally with his location on second serve. Even at 165ks an hour on second serve, if they know where it’s coming, they will impact you,” Rea stressed. Fritz has barely tested the mid-170s, though when he did at the Laver Cup in San Francisco, Alcaraz suddenly struggled to do damage.

Now, Taylor Fritz is gearing up for the quarterfinals at the Japan Open. He meets fellow American Sebastian Korda in Tokyo, both fighting for a spot in the last four. Could this be the moment Fritz taps into that extra gear and grabs his second Tokyo crown since 2023?