Fritz criticizes the new ATP regulations: the burden of continuous competition is too great, and he originally did not plan to compete in Washington.

In a recent interview, American top player Fritz admitted that had it not been for the ATP rules, he would have preferred to skip last week's ATP 500 event in Washington. As the tournament's top seed, Fritz lost to Spanish player Davidovich Fokina in the quarterfinals. This marks his fifth tournament since June, during which he has played 18 matches and secured 15 victories.

Fritz profile picture.

Fritz had to participate in the Washington event to meet the ATP's annual participation requirements for 500 events. This season, he has already taken part in three 500 tournaments, still needing one more to meet the requirement, with one of them to be completed after the US Open.

“This time of year is always very tough because there really isn’t a suitable week to rest,” Fritz said at the Toronto Masters press conference. “This is a Masters event; to be honest, don’t get me wrong, I really like the Washington tournament, but considering the packed schedule of the grass season, I would have chosen to withdraw. However, the new ATP regulations require me to meet the 500 event participation criteria, otherwise, I would be forced to receive a zero. Because I was injured for a period in the first half of this year and missed two 500 events, I had to participate in Washington to try to meet the requirements.”

Fritz expressed that in his view, the quota system for 500 events is not the best rule for players. This week, the lineup for the Toronto Masters is rather lackluster as top players like Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic have withdrawn, citing fatigue and focusing on preparing for the US Open.

“To be honest, this rule is debatable. After my injury at the beginning of the year, I originally needed a week to recuperate. Now most players prioritize the US Open, so they are unwilling to compete here, followed by Cincinnati, which consumes too much energy. This is essentially a matter of event prioritization,” Fritz stated. “As a North American player, I truly enjoy competing at this stage, and I’m glad to be here. But for some European players, the continuous competition is indeed too taxing; they would prefer to focus on preparing for the US Open.”

(Text and editing by Wang Fei, images by Visual China)