"I think there should be some kind of exceptions" - Taylor Fritz open to rule changes during grueling ATP season

Following a hectic two weeks at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, several top-ranked ATP superstars have taken some time off to rest and recover from injuries. However, World No.4 Taylor Fritz finds himself competing at the DC Open in Washington, although the American would rather have used this period to recharge in preparation for the long road to the US Open later this summer.

The 27-year old had a successful grass court season, winning two titles at the Boss Open and Eastbourne. Fritz would put on a splendid performance at SW19, reaching the semifinals behind some exceptional tennis. However, he would be stopped by two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a four-set semifinal clash.

Although the likes of Alcaraz and World No.1 Jannik Sinner are currently recovering following a grueling Wimbledon run, Fritz is back on the grind as he battles his way through the DC Open. An ATP 500 event, Fritz is the top seed and defeated Australian Aleksandar Vukic to reach the round of 16.

Building a reputation as an ironman on tour, Fritz was asked if he planned on skipping any events like his colleagues. The California native admitted he is required to play a certain number of ATP 500 events, after having missed two of them earlier this year.

"Yeah, there is a rule now you have to play a certain amount of 500 events, and I was injured earlier in this year and I missed two 500 events because of that," admitted Fritz. "So to actually meet my amount of 500s that I need to play, I need to play Washington, I need to play Tokyo, and I need to play Basel. So there is no other 500 weeks I can make up. So yeah, I’m taking a zero on my record if I don’t play this week.
“So I think if that wasn’t the case, there would probably… it’s a really good chance I would have taken the week off. I felt like it was a really quick turnaround, but at the same time, getting matches, playing in the heat, training here, there’s positives I can take out of playing this week. I think it’s good for getting myself in the rhythm of, you know, playing these humid, hot matches on hard court."

The top-ranked American was then asked if he'd like to see any rule changes made to the ATP schedule in the future.

"I mean, to be honest, I think when they announced, when I heard about the rule earlier in the year, I didn’t think it would make a difference," added Fritz. “I’m, like, I’m going to play in the 500s anyways. It comes down to missing two from injury. Now it’s like, okay, well, now I kind of just have to.
“I think there should be some kind of exemptions. There’s like Masters 1000 exemptions for, I don’t know the actual, like, I think it’s, like, Grand Slam winners if you’re a certain age. I don’t actually know the 1000 ones, but there should probably be some exemptions as well for 500s."