Taylor Fritz‘s clay-court season came to an abysmal end as he suffered a first-round exit to compatriot Nishesh Basavareddy at the French Open. Having been eliminated against Alexei Popyrin in the first round of the Geneva Open earlier this week, the World No. 9 failed to get going at Roland Garros as well. Fritz fell 6-7, 6-7, 7-6, 1-6 as he lost two tiebreaks before collapsing in the fourth set against an opponent who was making his debut on the clay-courts of Paris. The loss could have huge ramifications on Fritz’s ranking, and fans weren’t forgiving his ’embarrassing’ performance.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Fritz became the first top 10 casualty of Roland Garros 2026. He just hasn’t been the same after he encountered knee tendinitis following his R16 defeat against Jiri Lehecka at the Miami Open in March. Fritz has only played two matches since then and has lost both of them.
The World No. 9 had to withdraw from most of the clay swing due to problems with his knee injury. He wasn’t able to prepare a lot for the Roland Garros due to the injury and has now suffered a first-round exit at the Grand Slam for the second year running. Last year, he had been defeated in four sets by Daniel Altmaier.
Wow. World #156 Nishesh Basavareddy, who disappeared from the spotlight in the last couple of years, upsets world #8 Taylor Fritz (coming back from injury) 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1 to reach the second round at #RolandGarros. Incredible 4th set after having a MP in the 3rd.
Jim Courier, TNT commentator, echoed the verdict that Fritz was underprepared.
“It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise if you are in the weeds of tennis and you understand that Fritz is so underprepared competitively. He’s prepared his body to withstand the troubles that his knee tendinitis has been giving him, but he’s only played one match in the last two months,” Courier said.
Imago
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – MARCH 24: Taylor Fritz, USA, reacts during a men’s fourth round singles match against Jiri Lehecka CZE at the Miami Open on March 24, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire TENNIS: MAR 24 Miami Open EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2603240010044
This defeat can have severe consequences for Fritz, and his spot in the top 10 can be in serious jeopardy if players around his rank are able to get a decent number of points from the French Open.
On the other hand, it was an unforgettable debut for Basavareddy in Paris. The 21-year-old wildcard delivered arguably the day’s best performance. The crowd at the Suzanne-Lenglen erupted in cheers for the youngster as he clinched arguably the biggest win of his career so far.
“What a match. Taylor’s obviously a great player, so super happy to get through that, especially after losing the third set. First French Open main draw, and all the support, it’s incredible,” the youngster said after pulling off the remarkable win.
It marked the first upset at the 2026 French Open in the men’s draw. On the same day, Hailey Baptiste saved multiple match points to pull off an upset against two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejčíková.
The fans were left very disappointed with Fritz’s performance in Paris and unleashed brutal criticism on the American after the shocking result.
Fans left enraged with Taylor Fritz’s “embarrassing” display at the French Open
The fans were quick to criticize Fritz for his early exit, and one of them even claimed that the American will leave the top 10 soon. “Fritz is embarrassing right now. Probably will leave top 10 in hard court season,” the fan wrote.
Another was actually not that surprised with Fritz’s defeat and said that he hadn’t played seriously for the last two months. “I mean, he hasn’t played seriously in almost 2 months after the injury & playing on his worst surface, it’s not the craziest thing anyone’s seen.”
A fan was absolutely fuming with Fritz’s defeat and declared him to be the “worst top 10 player of all time.” If this wasn’t all, then another fan questioned how the 28-year-old was still in the top 10. “How is this guy still the world number 9?”
Finally, a fan said that Fritz should have defeated Basavareddy easily and described the result as “unacceptable”. “Fritz should have beaten this dude with 1 hand and in a wheelchair. Unacceptable.”
With his clay swing coming to an early end, Fritz will now be aiming to pull up his socks in the grass swing, a surface where he has dominated in the past.