Reigning Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz believes having high expectations for the future stars of the game is ‘dangerous’ based on his own experiences.
The world No.5 spoke about the pressure young players face after taking on rising star Ben Shelton in his opening match on Saturday. Fritz was forced to fight back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, over the 20-year-old who reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on his debut in January. Shelton is the third-youngest player in the ATP top 100 after Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune.
Speaking to reporters in his press conference, Fritz was asked to give his view on Shelton’s long-term potential and where he currently ranks compared to other young players. Prompting a cautious response from the American.
“I think it’s a really dangerous thing that people do putting crazy expectations on young American players,” said Fritz. “He’s really talented. He’s super dangerous if he’s playing well, just with the serve and the weapons that he has.’
“He definitely has a really bright future. He’s got a super explosive game and he has a lot of stuff that he can still — a lot of stuff that he will improve on.”
Fritz knows what it is like to be in the limelight at a young age. A former junior world No.1, in 2016 he became the youngest American man to contest a Tour final in 26 years at the age of 18. That breakthrough occurred three years before he won his first ATP trophy in Eastbourne and six years before he won the biggest title of his career to date in Indian Wells.
Speaking candidly about his younger years, Fritz admits that he struggled to cope with the pressure that was placed on him which had an impact on his performances on the Tour. It wasn’t until 2022 that he broke into the world’s top 20 and reached the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time.
“I felt like it was something that I maybe wasn’t ready for when I was 18, 19, and I think I was too young at the time to properly deal with it. I think it probably hurt me,” he reflected.
“I see it hurt a lot of young players because one of the most dangerous things that you can be dealing with in sports is having a lot of expectations and having a lot of pressure. It stops you from sometimes playing and competing as freely as you would like.”
As to what Fritz would have said to his younger self if he had the chance to do so, there is only one thing.
“I wish I would have cared a lot less about all that stuff when I was younger, and I think that I could have had the progress in my game that I’ve had in the last couple of years maybe sooner.” He concluded.
Fritz will continue his Indian Wells title defence against Sebastian Baez in the third round.
