By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday March 9, 2025
Indian Wells, California – Taylor Fritz wants to be a part of the groundswell that is happening around American men’s tennis. And he believes there is still much work to be done.
There are currently 10 Americans inside the ATP’s Top 10, but Fritz is the only one with a Grand Slam final and a Masters 1000 title to his name.
“I think it’s great that we are kind of building the tennis,” he said earlier this week at Indian Wells. “We can help build the tennis culture in the U.S. I think that’s something that I wanted to contribute to help my whole career. I think the women have been doing an incredible job of that for a long, long time, and I think the guys kind of need to step it up a little bit.
Fritz, who won the BNP Paribas Open title in 2022, will face Matteo Gigante of Italy in the second round on Saturday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The 27-year-old says that an American man needs to win a major – something that has become commonplace for the American women – even without Serena Williams in the mix – title to really put a charge into the movement.
“I think it’s going to take one of us winning a slam to really get that spike of young fans on the men’s side of things,” he said. “I mean, it’s great what we’re currently doing. We have a great group. Like I said, the women have been carrying for a very, very long time.” How to Make Tennis Tournaments Fun
When it comes to attracting new fans, Fritz says the sport should be paying attention to the Australian Open playbook. Build an event around the tennis, so that less nuanced fans can have options that go beyond the tennis. In short, make it fun.
“I think the sport needs to evolve. I think it is evolving,” Fritz said. “I think that needs to get the younger audience a bit, but I think that’s more like the tournaments making tournaments more just like a fun thing, even if you don’t understand tennis.
“I think something like Australian Open does a great job of that. People just go there to have a great time. It’s not necessarily so much about the tennis. You watch the tennis but there are a million of things to do while you’re there.
“I think it’s almost more like a social event. Those kinds of events are great for young fans to go and understand how much fun they can have at a tennis event and how much fun it is. And watching tennis live as well is a lot different too. I think you can start to appreciate it more.”
