“My dad pushed me really hard” – Taylor Fritz gets emotional over how tennis affected his relationship with his father

June 16, 2025

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American tennis player Taylor Fritz shared his thoughts on his relationship with his former tennis-playing father while growing up. Taylor’s dad, Guy Fritz, and mom, Kathy May, were both former players of the sport.

Besides being a former player, Fritz’s father has also been associated with tennis coaching and was also quite delved in while introducing his son to the early chapters of the sport. Speaking about his father in a recent exclusive interview with Tennis Insider Club, Fritz shared that one of the major factors behind his growth as a professional tennis player is his father.

He also added that his father pushed him a lot during the initial years, which he revealed wasn’t the best for their relationship. He said (3:32 onwards):

"I always, I always tell people behind most good tennis players, there's one like crazy parent in a good way, but. Um, yeah, I mean, it, it, it was tough 'cause like my dad obviously he pushed me really hard and I think growing up the relationship wasn't, uh, wasn't amazing 'cause it was so much like the coach…it wasn't great for our relationship then, but I think he trusted that I'd be smart enough to know where I'm at now."

Taylor Fritz is coming at the back of a disappointing campaign at the 2025 French Open, where he was eliminated in the first round by German player Daniel Altmier in four sets.

Taylor Fritz shares his thoughts on winning the 2025 Boss Open

Taylor Fritz during the 7th day of the Boss Open (Image via: Getty)

Taylor Fritz shared his emotions on winning the 2025 Boss Open after defeating World No.3 Alexander Zverev in the finals on Sunday, June 15. Fritz clinched the victory in straight sets against top seed Zverev to come back after a disappointing 2025 Roland-Garros.

Speaking about this victory, the American said that he is happy to start off his grass court season with a victory, especially after his poor clay season. He said (via ATP Tour):

"It was not so great a clay season, so to come here and start the grass season off perfectly, I am super happy to get the title and to do it here."

Besides the French Open, Fritz also had disappointing outings at the Geneva Open and Italian Open, where he was eliminated in the quarters and round of 64, respectively. Fritz will next feature at the HSBC Championships in London, where he will team up with Jiri Lehecka to face Alex De Minaur and Alexei Popyrin in the men's doubles Round of 16 on Monday.

About the author

Soumik is a journalist at Sportskeeda who covers US Olympics. Currently an Honors student of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has also worked for other firms as a tennis and football content writer.

Soumik’s favorite Olympian is Michael Phelps and he believes that the eight-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer has revolutionized the spectrum of Swimming. Nonetheless, the adrenaline rush that Track & Field sports offer interests him the most; and Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold-medal victory at the 2020 Tokyo Games is his favorite moment from past Olympics.

Soumik sources data and facts from credible sources like BBC and NBC for accurate and relevant reporting, and keeps up with updates on social media and news media platforms.

He feels that covering collegiate tournaments, similar to what is done in the United States can be a good way to cover the bridge the coverage gap during the Olympics off season.

When not reporting on the latest Olympics news stories, Soumik likes to play cricket and watch movies.

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