Before the clay court swing began, Taylor Fritz had already stepped away from the tour to heal his knee tendinitis. The issue had lingered for some time, though after beating Patrick Kypson at SW19, he said his knee had ‘held up well’ on grass until now. But that hope took another hit against Alexander Zverev now, as the lingering issue once again came back to haunt him.

During the second set, with him trailing 2-1, Fritz took a medical timeout for his knee. He looked visibly tense as tournament officials examined the issue.

It has not been an easy road for the 28-year-old American to get to this point, with his knee still causing problems. During the early part of 2026, Fritz was dealing with severe pain but still chose not to step away from the tour. 

Despite dealing with inflammation of the tendons (tendinitis), Taylor Fritz opted against taking a break, even though rest is generally considered the best way to manage the condition. In 2025, Fritz described his knee as “completely cooked” after losing to Alcaraz at ATP Finals.after losing a long round-robin match to the then-top seed Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Finals.

The American later revealed that he had been battling tendinitis for the most part of the 2025 season. Eventually, he struggled to bend his back leg on serve and later found it hard to load his right leg during matches. 

And after the Miami Open, Fritz and coach Michael Russell also cut most of the clay season before his return to the tour at the Geneva Open. And now, with his SW19 run ending in defeat at ‌Court 1, the injury concern may only grow from here.

Taylor Fritz reveals hard-court plans despite his knee concerns

Coming into the All-England Club, Taylor Fritz had already put together a strong grass-court run. The American played two events before SW19, in Stuttgart and Halle, and reached the final in both tournaments.

Those results showed that the 28-year-old’s game was in good shape on grass. But behind that run, the same knee issue that has troubled him for much of the last year was still hanging around.

However, Fritz’s decision to play through injuries has also drawn criticism. After reaching the final of the Dallas Open earlier this year, he was criticised for continuing to play despite carrying physical issues.

Now, following his Wimbledon campaign has ended after a straight-sets loss to Alexander Zverev, Fritz is already looking ahead to the hard-court swing and hoping his body responds well. “I’m waiting to see how it’s going to feel on hard courts when I’m kind of stomping and sliding on it. It’s still a work in progress,” he added after reaching the third round of SW19.

“It feels great to be able to play three-set matches, four-set matches and not ever be thinking about my knee in pain on the court. That’s a huge step forward,” Fritz explained.

But after the issue showed up again today, there is still reason for concern. His fans will now be hoping the American arrives at the upcoming hard-court season feeling fresh and ready.