Entering the United Cup, Taylor Fritz was thought to be the one to bring back glory for America. However, his opening matchup against world No. 45 Sebastian Baez came with some harrowing news. Fritz lost the game 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, losing his cool and smashing his racket right into his knees. But worse was the concerning injury update about the leading American in the tournament.

Fritz was celebrating early, taunting Baez with the ‘too small’ gesture. However, in a gritty match full of momentum swings, Baez kicked off his season in style at the United Cup at RAC Arena, Perth. Baez showed resilience, rallying from a set down to secure the victory in two hours and 33 minutes. The difference came down to the big moments, where Baez won the pivotal points and edged ahead by just one point overall.

The American did plenty of things right, especially on serve. He blasted 23 aces and was dominant behind his first delivery, often putting Baez on the defensive. However, his second serve proved costly, as he was broken four times and struggled to protect himself once rallies extended.

Baez, on the other hand, stayed steady under pressure. Serving at 75 percent, the Argentine saved eight of 11 break points and consistently held his nerve when Fritz threatened. Even when the American applied pressure early, Baez refused to fade.

The opening set belonged to Fritz, who served efficiently and controlled the tempo. He pushed hard on return at 5-4, forced an error, and closed the set with a break at love in just 38 minutes. But as the match wore on, Baez’s persistence paid off, allowing him to flip the script and finish the comeback. However, the bigger culprit may have been Fritz’s injury.

Fritz has been dealing with knee tendonitis while leading Team USA at the United Cup. The injury has clearly been a lingering concern, hanging over his performances as the new season gets underway, and hence his frustration took a physical form as he smashed his racket.

However, his losing his cool on court is nothing new for tennis fans. Last season, he famously snapped his racket after a tough Canadian Open semifinal loss to fellow American Ben Shelton, a match where Shelton’s relentless aggression flipped the script on Fritz, who had barely been broken in the rounds before.

After the loss, Fritz was seen talking to the tournament director about his condition and later also addressed the same with the media.

“I really just need to be playing points and be healthy. I think that’s the biggest thing. I spent the majority, pretty much the entirety of the off-season trying to rehab my knee tendinopathy, but that’s a thing that takes months and months to get better.”

When it came to choosing between a rehab of four months and playing, Fritz went with the latter. But if he does opt out of the tournament before his Monday matchup against Spain’s Jaume Munar, world No. 114, Mackie McDonald would replace him.

However, he did try everything in the short offseason that he could to improve his tendonitis.

The injury that won’t go away for Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz put together a strong 2025 season, winning titles in Eastbourne and Stuttgart and earning a spot at the ATP Finals, all while managing ongoing knee tendonitis. Despite the success, the injury played a major role in shaping his offseason, limiting how much he could focus on technical improvements.

During the break, Taylor Fritz admitted his priorities were clear. Rather than targeting specific parts of his game, his main goal was recovery. “My goal was really just to try and rehab my knee,” he said, explaining that the tendonitis is still “pretty serious” and slow to heal.

Even so, while Fritz acknowledged that the physical demands of competition make recovery harder, he is not ready to press pause for several months.

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The focus of his six-week offseason was rehab and strengthening to build a physical base for the long season ahead. Fritz explained that while the issue can flare up, the work he has put in should help him improve gradually. He remains cautiously optimistic that after a couple of months into the season, the problem could be behind him.

Update: Taylor Fritz has reportedly announced that he won’t be participating in the mixed doubles, resting his knee before the Australian Open.

Regardless, Taylor Fritz will begin his 2026 campaign at the United Cup in Perth, where he will lead Team USA alongside Coco Gauff. The mixed-team event will serve as his tune-up before the Australian Open in Melbourne, which begins on January 18.