2026 Schedule Update | American duo Fritz and Shelton look for final redemption in BMW Munich Open as Fritz targets title defence in Stuttgart Open

Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are starting to plan out their 2026 seasons by tactically picking out the right competitions to compete in. They have both signed up for the BMW Munich Open from April 11-19, while Fritz is shortlisted for another tournament in Germany, specifically the Stuttgart Open commencing from June 8-14.

The world's best players are looking towards the upcoming 2026 campaign motivated for a season fulfilled with progress and titles. It is set to start very shortly, with a plethora of tournaments set to begin at the start of January.

The main focus will be the first major of the year, the Australian Open commencing from January 18 - February 1. Fritz and Shelton will be hoping for a fast start to the year. The duo enjoyed positive 2025 campaigns as they cemented themselves as the standout Americans on the ATP Tour.

In the 2025 Munich Open, Shelton made it all the way to the final on German clay. He defeated Borna Gojo, Botic Van de Zandschulp, Luca Darderi and Francisco Cerundolo. He set up an intriguing tie against the top seed Alexander Zverev. He was hunting down a third ATP title, but this would not come in the German event as home favourite Zverev overcame the 23-year-old 6-2, 6-4 for a third title. A four-game spurt which fell intertwined with the first and second set was enough to give Zverev the advantage, and Shelton was unable to drag himself back into it.

It was the highlight of what was an underwhelming clay swing. However, he will be hoping to make up for the final defeat and get himself on the top of the podium in the ATP 500 event. He will be hoping to go into the event with some positive momentum. He is beginning his year in the Auckland International. The world number nine will then be fully focused on retaining the hefty amount of ranking points collected in the 2024 Australian Open, where he made the semi-finals before being battered by the eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

Shelton will find some hefty competition in Munich with his fellow American also competing in the event. The former US Open finalist was missing from last year's event due to injury. He was unable to retain the points he won from 2024 when, similar to Shelton, he made a run all the way to the final. He was also against a German, but was the favourite against Jan-Lennard Struff. It was the American's first and only clay final to-date, but he was unable to get over the line against Struff, as he won 7-5, 6-3.

Clay has never been a favourable surface for Fritz. He has preferred hard court and grass surface scenery. He was electric in the grass swing earlier this year. He won two titles from four events competed in, which also included a semi-final at Wimbledon. One of them was a fourth title at the Eastbourne Open.

The other one came before in the Stuttgart Open as he upset the German crowd to defeat Zverev 6-3, 7-6(0). Enroute he also got the better of Quentin Halys, Marton Fucsovics and Felix Auger-Aliassime. It was his first success in the tournament, and he will be back for more in 2026.