Taylor Fritz recently opened up about his relationship with his father, Guy Fritz, while growing up. Fritz is the son of Kathy May, a former top-10 WTA player, and Guy, who also played professional tennis.
In his career, Fritz has won eight ATP Tour singles titles and is currently ranked No. 4 in the world. He is the highest-ranked American player on the tour. His best Grand Slam result was finishing as the runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Open. He also earned a bronze medal in doubles alongside Tommy Paul at the 2024 Paris Olympics, among other achievements.
Taylor Fritz Appreciates His Father Guy Fritz Showing ‘Tough Love’ While Coaching Him
In a recent episode of the podcast “Tennis Insider Club,” hosted by Caroline Garcia and her fiancé, Borja Duran, Fritz shared his experiences of being coached by his father. He revealed that Guy coached him until he turned professional at nearly 18 years old.
“Yeah, pretty much, I mean, pretty much my whole life up until when I turned pro, when I was like, okay, basically about to turn 18. It was when I started doing my own thing. But pretty much up until then, my dad always coached me,” Fritz said.
Fritz described the experience of having his father as a coach as “tough.” He reflected that their father-son relationship was “not amazing” while he was growing up, mostly because Guy was very strict in his coaching approach.
“I mean, it is tough. I always tell people behind most good tennis players, there’s one like crazy parent in a good way. It was tough ’cause like my dad pushed me really hard. I think growing up, the relationship wasn’t amazing ’cause it was so much like the coach-player.”
“He’s doing anything he can to like get me on the court and play, and when I look back at it, it wasn’t great for our relationship, but then I think he trusted that I’d be smart enough to know where I’m at now,” he continued.
The 27-year-old said that looking back now, he appreciates the tough love and discipline his father instilled in him, knowing it shaped him into the player he is today.
“I appreciate all of the tough love and the toughness ’cause he never wanted me to be soft, and it can go two ways. It can go into like, ‘God, I hate him so much, and this is awful.’ Or to where I can look back at it and see that I wouldn’t be where I am if he didn’t push me as hard as he did, and I’m thankful for that,” he said.
Fritz also shared that his father’s rigorous training made him “hate” him as a kid, yet he now sees those moments as key to his success.
“When I was a kid, we’d be coming back from a basketball game, and he’d stop at the park, and he’d be like, ‘Go run sprints on this. Go, there’s a chin-up bar. Go, do chin-ups, and then you’re gonna go… run home.’ So, at the time, I was like, ‘Wow, I hate my dad so much.’ But it’s a big reason why I am where I am,” Fritz added.
Where Will Fritz Compete Next?
Fritz began his grass court swing at the 2025 BOSS Open in Stuttgart, where he won the title by defeating Alexander Zverev in the final. He most recently competed at the Queen’s Club Championships, where he was seeded third and lost in the first round to qualifier Corentin Moutet, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 5-7.
After his exit from Queen’s Club, Fritz is scheduled to compete at the 2025 Eastbourne Open. The ATP 250 grass court tournament is set to take place from June 23 to June 28 at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, United Kingdom.
The world No. 4 will enter the tournament as the defending champion, having won the title in 2024. During that run, Fritz defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild, qualifier Shang Juncheng, and lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic to reach the final.
In the championship match, Fritz defeated qualifier Max Purcell 6-4, 6-3, earning his third Eastbourne title. He also won the tournament in 2019 and 2022, beating Sam Querrey and Maxime Cressy, respectively.
