After reaching his first-ever Wimbledon semifinal, Taylor Fritz reflected on a moment from 2021 when he went on a rant while talking to his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle.
Fritz clinched a spot in the final four of the grass-court Major following a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) win over 17th seed Karen Khachanov quarterfinal win over Karen Khachanon. He thus became the first American man to reach this far at Wimbledon since John Isner in 2018.
Taylor Fritz Opens Up About Venting to Girlfriend Morgan Riddle After 2021 Defeat
The current World No. 5 experienced tough luck twice before finally reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, having previously suffered five-set defeats to Rafael Nadal and Lorenzo Musetti in 2022 and 2024, respectively.
After two previous losses to Khachanov in their ATP Head-to-Head matchups, Fritz finally broke through with his first win over the Russian, battling for two hours and 36 minutes. Speaking during his post-match on-court interview, the American shared his joy, saying he was “really happy” with the result.
“It’s an amazing feeling… Obviously, having played the quarter-finals here twice and lost in five [sets] twice, I don’t think I could have taken another one. So I’m really happy I’m going to get to play the semis here.”
When Fritz was asked how proud he feels now that he’s gotten “his stuff together,” he opened up about the difficult period following his last two losses. He also publicly acknowledged the support of his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, sharing how she stood by him through it all. He said:
“Yeah, I mean, at that time, I feel like my ranking was slipping. I had a, I was coming back from a surgery, and I felt like I was just not playing to the level where I felt like I should be playing at and I’m a little, I never wanted, that note was never supposed to be public.”
The 27-year-old also emphasized how his dedication over the past four years has paid off, as he now finds himself in the semifinals at SW19.
“It was just, you know, I was ranting, I was ranting to my girlfriend about it, and she said, you know, write it down, look at it. So yeah, I’m really happy with how I’ve really turned, I guess, my career around over the last four years or so. I’ve put in a lot of work, and it’s, you know, it’s great to see the results,” Fritz said.
“I’m really happy with how I’ve turned my career around.”
After losing in the #Wimbledon QF twice, Taylor Fritz is now in his first semi-final at SW19 👏 pic.twitter.com/x5OZbeNrGu
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025
The question Fritz was asked was related to a note he wrote to himself after his Wimbledon exit in 2021. The note, which was later shared by his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, read:
“Nobody in the whole world is underachieving harder than you, you’re so fucking good but 40 in the world get your f***ing s**t together.. Wimbledon loss July 3, 2021.”
After defeating 17th seed Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals, Taylor Fritz will face either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Cameron Norrie in the semifinals on Friday, July 11. This marks the American’s second appearance in a Grand Slam semifinal, having previously reached last year’s US Open final.
