American tennis player Taylor Fritz has fired back at critics who suggested he is in support of an exclusive new tour that doesn't include players tanked outside the top 125 in rankings.
Following the rumors that Saudi Arabia is ready to financially back a new tour that would feature only Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 events, Fritz approved of the idea, suggesting that the top-ranked ATP players do not compete at lower-ranked events.
Fritz clarifies his previous quotes due to backlash from fans
"It’s a really good idea, and I think that we should have separate tours," said Fritz in a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. “If you’re on the main, top tour, you should be set to play all the big events, and they should all be slightly bigger-draw events to get basically everybody in the top 100 in, and I think that’s honestly all we should play.
“You can have 14 marquee events, and it makes tennis easy to follow for fans because all you have to pay attention to is those tournaments. There’s no people getting tons of points in between events, at like 250s and 500s, and more than anything, there’s no crazy schedule for us players."
Upon being faced with accusations that he was in support of a model that ensured only the top-ranked players competed at lucrative events, Fritz fired back, stating the idea was already in use on the US PGA Tour.
“Always need a follow-up explanation for the people that can’t read,” said the World No.10 on Twitter. “When I say separate or premium tour I am NOT saying only top players, as I said in the quote the “main top tour” should be made up of the top 100-120 players kind of like how top 125 in PGA get a tour card. At the end of the year, some people go down and some people come up into the main tour.
“Also anyone saying I only have ranking/points cause of 250’s (tournaments) you are literally proving my point. This system would ensure everyone plays same number of tournaments (12/14 marquee events 128 draw) and nobody can complain about how someone got their points/ranking because nobody can pick up points elsewhere. Now I don’t think it will ever happen but I’m asked in an interview so I give my honest opinion, I just think it would make the sport easier to follow from a fan perspective.”
