'I felt like I really could have used a rest week': Taylor Fritz lambasts new 'rule' after being forced to play DC Open

America’s Taylor Fritz is known for expressing himself, not only on the court but off it as well. The 27-year-old, time and again, has raised his voice about different matters that impacted players' welfare. Fritz has decided to do that once again, as he criticised the authorities for a new rule which makes it mandatory for players to feature in a certain number of ATP tournaments. Fritz is set to feature in the ongoing Canadian Open, where he will open his campaign in the round of 64 with a match against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena.

Fritz is coming into the competition on the back of suffering a defeat in the quarterfinal of the DC Open, where he lost to Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina with a score of 7-6, 3-6, 7-6. That result was a disappointing one for Fritz as he was the top-seed in the competition and was the favourite to go all the way and lift the title.

Fritz spoke to the media ahead of his tournament opener in Toronto and expressed his frustration about the rule which forced players to play in a certain number of ATP 500 tournaments in the year. Fritz stated that ideally, he wanted to take that week off, but he had no option but to feature in the competition, which was not good for him physically going into the busy hard-court season, where he is set to feature in two ATP 1000 events, including the one in Toronto and the US Open as well.

"I mean, this is a tough part of the year because there's not really any weeks that make sense to take off,” said Fritz. “It's 1000s, and to be honest, last week, and don't get me wrong, I really like DC and I like playing the tournament, but with how busy my grass court schedule was, I would have probably opted out of it. But there's a new rule: you have to play a certain number of 500 events, or you get a zero on your record. Because I was injured in the year, I missed two 500s, so I actually had to play DC in order to give myself a chance to meet my, like, 500 quota for the year. So I'm going to be honest, I don't think that's the best rule, because I was injured earlier this year, and yeah, I felt like I really could have used a rest week."

Heavy favourite

Despite the difficulties, Fritz is having an excellent season. He is the highest-ranked American player and has won 32 out of 45 matches this year, including two titles. His first title was the Boss Open in Stuttgart in June, where he defeated Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6. Fritz’s second title in 2025 was the Eastbourne Open, where he defeated Jenson Brooksby in the final in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-1. Recently, Fritz had an incredible run at Wimbledon as well, where his journey eventually ended in the semifinal as he lost to then defending champion Carlos Alcaraz with a score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6.

Fritz will now turn his attention to Spain’s Carballes Baena, where he will start as a heavy favourite to produce a positive result. Carballes Baena, who has won just 10 out of 25 matches in the singles category in 2025, cemented his spot in the second round of the Canada Open after being awarded a walkover in the match against Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli. The final score of that match was 6-1, 4-1. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two players in professional tennis.