Taylor Fritz revealed that knee tendinitis has been a recurring issue throughout his 2025 season and that this pain played a role in his struggles against Carlos Alcaraz in the third set of their ATP Finals round-robin match on Tuesday (6-7, 7-5, 6-3).

The injury became problematic during matches only after the grass court season, with Fritz noting that it flares up especially when playing back-to-back matches.

“I’ve had tendinitis all year long,” he said. “Initially, the pain was mostly felt after matches, but recently it has interfered during play. It was never an issue before, but since then I’ve struggled to play back-to-back days without it flaring up.”

Despite this, Fritz was clear that the injury was not an excuse for his loss to Alcaraz. “I had my opportunities,” the American said. “My opportunity to win that match was in the second set, and I didn’t take it.” He emphasized that his frustration came from missed chances to lead one set and one break at 7-6, 4-4, rather than from the pain itself.

Fritz “really struggling”

Fritz described how the tendinitis affected his movement, especially in the third set: “I was really struggling to bend my back leg on my serve, step into backhands, load the leg for an open-stance forehand. My knee’s completely cooked.”

The intense movements required during the match, particularly when returning serves, added strain. “The pushing off, the landing when I’m returning, that puts a lot of force through it.”



Addressing the difficulty of managing tendinitis within the tennis season, Fritz explained: “You need a certain amount of weeks to strengthen it where you’re not pounding on it playing tennis. Unfortunately, that time period does not exist in the tennis season.”

Playing through the pain

Despite the challenge, he has decided to continue playing through the pain. “Why would you stop for four to six weeks when I can do this on the court? I’m just going to play through.” Fritz did not join the chorus of players complaining about the demanding ATP Tour schedule with nine mandatory Masters 1000 tournaments.

His comments highlight the difficult balance between injury management and competing at the highest level in professional tennis. “It’s unfortunate when you have to play two days back-to-back with tendinitis flaring,” he noted, but remained focused on maximizing his chances. “I had all I could ask for, I just didn’t take it.”