Taylor Fritz continues to make his mark on the tennis world, climbing to the top ranks of professional players with some impressive performances this past year. Despite his success and rise through the rankings, questions still linger about what’s keeping him from winning a Grand Slam title. The American has shown he can compete with the best on tour, but there appear to be specific areas in his game that experts believe need improvement if he wants to break through and win a major championship finally.
Rennae Stubbs Advises Taylor Fritz to Look for a New Coach
Fritz’s powerful serve, groundstrokes, and agility make him one of the fiercest competitors on the ATP Tour; however, he struggles significantly when playing against the World’s top two players. His record against Jannik Sinner is 1-4, and two of those losses in 2024 were straight-set defeats in finals. On the other hand, Fritz is 1-5 against Carlos Alcaraz.
On her podcast, Rennae Stubbs talked about what’s really holding Fritz back, and it centers on the coaching situation. “I love Michael Russell, I think he’s done the most unbelievable job, and Paul Annacone. They’ve done an amazing job with him, but I think, maybe, it’s time for him to look for a new coach,” Stubbs said.
Stubbs pointed to one specific thing Fritz needs to fix if he wants to beat the world’s best. “His net play needs to get better, and it can get better. It’s gotta get better, if he wants to beat these guys in best of five, the Carlosses and the Janniks in best of five, he has to get better at the net because that’s where Carlos and Sinner differentiate themselves above everybody.”
Both Alcaraz and Sinner can hit hard from the baseline, but they’re also incredibly dangerous at the net. “They can play at the net, and they will finish the point at the net if they must, and Taylor can’t do that. That’s an area that he can improve by far.”
Stubbs wasn’t taking away from Fritz’s other qualities. “He has the serve, he has the ground strokes, he’s moving unbelievable. He has the tenacity, he’s got grit, he tries his ass off, he tries to get better,” she said. “But if he doesn’t improve his net play, he will not win those types of matches against those players.”
As for Russell, Stubbs acknowledged his worth won’t go unnoticed. “Michael has done an amazing job, and he will get picked up in a nanosecond from a player, maybe Tsitsipas,” she noted.
So the coaching change isn’t about Russell being bad at his job. It’s more about whether a different perspective or new ideas could help Fritz make that final leap and add the net game piece he’s missing.
The Head-to-Head Stats Support Stubbs’ Claims
The head-to-head records paint a clear picture. Fritz beat Sinner once in 2021 at Indian Wells, but since then, it’s all been Sinner. Against Alcaraz, it’s just a single win for the American at the 2025 Laver Cup.
Both Alcaraz and Sinner are dangerous everywhere on court, hitting hard from the baseline and finishing points at the net with ease.
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Fritz keeps up from the baseline but doesn’t look as comfortable at the net. His game is built around his serve and baseline power, genuine strengths against most players, but he lacks that killer instinct and touch at the net that separates the elite.
Despite reaching the US Open final in 2024, Fritz has yet to win a Grand Slam. At 28 years old, if he can improve his net game, there’s no reason he can’t win a major in the future.
