Fritz devastated after suffering setback in his knee injury: "I didn't expect it"

Pedro de Pablos | 8 Jul 2026 | 19.43

Fritz devastated after relapsing in his knee injury: "I didn't expect it". Source: Getty Images.

Streaming W75 The Hague live tennis

🎾 Chloe Paquet vs Lia Karatancheva

Sign up with Bet365 here
Make your first deposit of at least €5
Go to the “Live” section and watch every match

Watch the match on Bet365

Taylor Fritz has experienced one of the toughest moments of the year in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2026 against Alexander Zverev. Not only for losing to the German player after 7 consecutive victories but also for his relapse in the knee injury that had been bothering him for 2 months this season, causing him to miss several tournaments.

In the press conference following his match against Zverev, Fritz did not want to take away credit from the level shown by 'Sascha', who he sees better than ever, but he did express devastation because he did not expect the knee to worsen again at this point. Tendonitis are tricky injuries, and according to Taylor himself, he believes that the accumulation of matches in recent weeks has led to this situation, leaving him in a tough spot.

Fritz reveals when he started feeling pain in the knee

I felt that by the third game of the match, he already had a break advantage, but also by the third game, I started feeling discomfort in the knee. I think I could have played much better despite the issue. First of all, I want to clarify that I don't know what difference it would have made in the match. It was going to be very difficult to beat him with his serve. He was very aggressive with his forehand and also with his backhand. Very aggressive. He hit the ball very well. He played very well; it was not the match I expected. I would say I would have liked to feel 100% and try to challenge him. I don't know what to say; I don't understand why I felt this way today.

Did your knee hurt before the match started?

I wish, I almost wish I had known earlier so that I could have prepared to play a match where I would have to play with discomfort because I felt that throughout the first set, as I said, I was three games in when I started feeling it. I was already down a break. I panicked, what am I going to do? I just didn't expect it at all. The only symptoms I had were a bit of pain towards the end of my match with Bublik. I was already up two sets and a break.

I thought maybe it wasn't the best sign that I was feeling it after that match because it wasn't very physical, but tendonitis is usually like that. It flares up sometimes. You give it some rest, and then it feels better. After a light day yesterday, I expected to feel good today. I felt good, in fact, I felt very good during warm-up. I felt that my warm-up was great. But well, I have no idea why it was like that after three matches.

Feelings after losing in this way

It's very sad. Besides, I don't want to detract from how well he is playing. I'm not saying the result would have been different. He was playing very aggressively, doing a lot of things that, I would say, represent significant improvements in his game. He changes the direction with the backhand a lot, serves with great precision, and places the ball in excellent spots. He puts a lot of power into his forehand. It would have been an incredibly difficult match. I'm very sorry I didn't have the chance to compete. I felt that, as I was thinking about the knee, my concentration was scattered.

Comparison with his victory against Zverev in Halle a few weeks ago

What happened in Halle was that he was affected by a medical issue. He was suffering a lot. I felt that the signs of his problem in Halle started to show in the second and third set. The first set in Halle was similar to how he played here. Much more aggressive. He won the first set in Halle. In some key points of the tiebreak, he went on the attack, was more aggressive than usual in some of the crucial, pressure points.

Obviously, he is playing with a lot of confidence right now. He is hitting his forehand better than ever. I have noticed it throughout the tournament, just by watching some of his matches. He is playing with a lot of confidence. Naturally, when you play with a lot of confidence, you feel good to go for more and take risks. You just have confidence in your ball striking. It's clear that he has it.

Fritz reveals the reason for the relapse in his injury

Maybe there is a misunderstanding. Rest is not the solution for knee tendonitis. That is, it's not about overloading it to a certain point, which obviously involves time away from very physical tennis matches. That helps. It's not that when I'm at home and not playing tournaments, I rest. It's about strengthening it a lot, and it has to be demanded. There is a certain degree of pain that is acceptable when trying to strengthen and regenerate the tendon. That's what I've been doing. That's what all my scans have shown since November: I'm regenerating and strengthening the tendon.

In November, there was only one hole there, so... I am surprised by today because I thought that if it was going to show signs of worsening, I felt it would have happened already. I played 9 matches in 11 days, between Stuttgart and Halle. I think five or six were three-setters. I felt that if it was going to happen, it would have already. That's why I'm so disappointed and sad today. It didn't even happen at the three sets. It was at the three games, and I was already feeling it. It's hard to explain. It's a strange injury. Pain doesn't mean that it's not much better. I will have another scan and see how it is. There's a good chance that playing so much has made it worse. If I rested for a couple of days, I would probably return to where I was before.

Future plans after the relapse

I think the positive of playing in Canada and Cincinnati is the rest days between matches. I believe that will help me a lot. Obviously, I won't play the week before the US Open. That's what I've done in the past. By the time I get to the US Open, I should feel similar to how I felt here. As I said, I need to have an MRI scan. At this point, I have many different scans to compare. Each one looks better than the last, so... we'll see how I am. I think if we were in last year's schedule, Washington D.C. would be practically impossible for me. This year, the schedule is delayed by a week. I'll have enough time to rest, resume my rehabilitation program, and see how I feel.

Semifinal between Zverev and Fery

It's hard to say. Obviously, I couldn't watch today's match. I don't know. I think Zverev is going to be incredibly hard to beat, just because of how well he is serving. I don't think that will change much overnight. I think you can expect him to serve at least 70% of the time with first serves, powerful serves. He's playing with a lot of confidence. We'll see if the crowd, playing against someone who is the big favorite, can cause some trouble. Yes, he's playing with a lot of confidence and very well. It's going to be an interesting match.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Fritz, devastado tras recaer en su lesión de rodilla: "No me lo esperaba"

ATP