Taylor Fritz net game and Grand Slam prospects after Paris Masters loss to Carlos Alcaraz, Digi Mart USA News: Taylor Fritz has been told to “fix” his net game or his chances of winning a Grand Slam are over. That is according to former world No 1 women’s doubles player Rennae Stubbs, who said Fritz should have rushed the net on his second match point against Carlos Alcaraz in their Paris Masters quarter-final last week.
The 29-year-old appeared set to win the match in straight sets when he hit a big forehand into Alcaraz’s backhand. The Spaniard responded with a teasing slice just over the net.
Many argued that Fritz should not have let the ball bounce, and Alcaraz won the point with his next shot.
Stubbs has repeatedly said that the 6ft 5in player’s transition game and net skills are holding him back in his bid to win a maiden Grand Slam. She said the missed match point was evidence of that.
Speaking on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, she said that running forward to take the backhand volley out of the air would have won the match.
Stubbs said she had watched the match with Lisa Raymond, a former doubles partner and accomplished volleyer. She said they had both questioned why Fritz did not hit a volley, and that she paused the replay when the ball was almost over the net, with Alcaraz outside the doubles alley at that point.
If Fritz had beaten Alcaraz in Paris, he would have moved past Rafael Jodar in the ATP Finals Race. Instead, he fell short in three gruelling sets, and Alcaraz took the final qualifying spot for the season-ending tournament in Turin.
Fritz reached the US Open final in 2024 and has a career-high ranking of four, but he has not yet won a major. Stubbs said that unless Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are out of the draw, Fritz will not win a major if he does not improve his net game.
She said Alcaraz produced far more incredible volleys in crucial points than Fritz did.
Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, while Sinner fell early in Paris and sat out the US Open because of a knee issue. Alexander Zverev won in Paris and New York to become a two-time Grand Slam champion.
Fritz’s chances of winning a major may be shrinking with age, but Stubbs suggested that improving his transition game and net play could still give him a shot at the goal.
