Former WTA Player Advises Taylor Fritz to Part Ways with His Coach to Challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Taylor Fritz's best Grand Slam run came at the 2024 US Open, where he reached the final.

Former WTA Player Advises Taylor Fritz to Part Ways with His Coach to Challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, and Patrick Mouratoglou (via X/The Tennis Letter/Sky Sports/AP)

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Taylor Fritz will be bidding to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title for over 20 years at the 2026 Australian Open. The 28-year-old will have to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who are currently the favorites to win Grand Slams on tour. Former WTA player Rennae Stubbs believes he has to part ways with his coach to stand a chance of winning it.

The last American man to win a major singles title on tour was Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open. By January next year, it will be over 22 years since an American man has won a Grand Slam in the men’s circuit. Last season, Fritz came close to breaking the curse at the US Open after reaching the final.

But the World No.6 was stopped by Jannik Sinner in straight sets in New York. He tried to reach another major final on tour this year at the Wimbledon Championships. He got to the semi-finals and faced Alcaraz, who defeated him in four sets. Alcaraz and Sinner have won the last eight Grand Slams on tour.

Additionally, they have met in the finals of the last three major tournaments and have become an impenetrable force in the men’s circuit. If Fritz should win a major honor in the future, he will likely need to beat both Alcaraz and Sinner. However, Stubbs, a former World No.1 in doubles, has stated that changes have to be made for Fritz to win a Slam finally.

One of the changes she revealed was that Fritz parted ways with his coaches, Paul Annacone and Michael Russell. Fritz began working with Annacone in 2018, but Russell joined his team in 2021 and won the ATP Coach of the Year award for 2024. During a conversation on Rennae Stubbs’ podcast, Stubbs revealed that Fritz has to split with Russell:

I think he has done the most unbelievable job and Paul Annacone. They have done an amazing job with him. I think maybe it’s time for him to look for a new coach. I have said it before. I think Michael has done an amazing job, and he will get picked up in a nano-second from a player. But I think he just needs to add something extra and I have talked about it, his net play needs to get better.

Fritz doesn’t have a favorable head-to-head record against Sinner and Alcaraz. He has beaten Sinner once in five attempts, and that came at the 2021 Indian Wells Masters. Meanwhile, the American star defeated Alcaraz at the Laver Cup, but has never beaten the Spaniard in an ATP Tour event.

Rennae Stubbs analyzed areas Taylor Fritz needs to improve on ahead of next season

Taylor Fritz didn’t end the year at the same height that he did in 2024. In 2025, he crashed out of the ATP Finals in the round robin stage after winning just one match, compared to last year, when he got to the final for the first time in his career. He also failed to defend his 2024 US Open final run in 2025.

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz (Image via X/Dexerto)

In addition, the 28-year-old has failed to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on tour. During the aforementioned conversation, Rennae Stubbs analyzed that Fritz needs to improve in his net game. The former doubles World No.1 added that Sinner and Alcaraz are better than him in many aspects of the game:

It can get better. It has got to get better. If he wants to beat Carlos and Jannik over best of five he has to get better at the net. That is where Carlos and Jannik differentiate themselves from the rest. They hit the ball so well from the back of the court, but they can play at the net. They will finish a point at the net if they must. Taylor can’t do that.

Fritz ended the year winning the Stuttgart Open and the Eastbourne International, both on the grass court. He held an amazing 53-23 win-loss record this year and claimed over $5 million in prize money.

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