Taylor Fritz feels Olympics should carry rankings points

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz is returning to Australia for the United Cup of 2024, which begins on 29 December.

Fritz will compete in the team competition for the United States for the second time.

During the pre-tournament news conference, the American said that although he likes to be involved in competitions where athletes have the opportunity to represent their nation, additional rewards in the form of ranking points for competitions such as the Olympics would be welcome. Even though the United Cup is a team tournament similar to the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup, players receive ranking points for each singles victory.

Fritz said that when it comes to playing in the Olympics, which frequently falls during the US hardcourt season, American players are the hardest impacted by missing events to chase gold.

“Yeah, I mean, I think you could go either way with it, I think,” Taylor Fritz said.

“I think definitely they should bring back points. There needs to be some type of incentive.”

“Like, it hurts everybody, like, especially the Americans a lot to not – like, you miss two weeks of the year on US hard. Yeah, I think that definitely needs to be brought back. I don’t know. I could see it go every way. From a biased standpoint, a team would be great. It would help us a lot,” Fritz added.

The American claimed that although getting a medal for their nation is a significant enough motivator for athletes, not everyone is able to claim the award. Fritz pointed out that those who do not receive medals leave with nothing to show for their accomplishments at the event.

“To be honest, like, going to the Olympics, you go there to win a medal,” Taylor Fritz said. “I feel like if I go there and don’t win a medal, then it’s not really, like – I don’t know, it’s an experience, but I’m not doing much for my country if I’m not winning a medal. It would be nice if there was more incentive.”

Taylor Fritz emphasised the importance of ranking points during the Olympics, pointing out that even if players do well at the quadrennial event, they frequently lose points while defending points from tour tournaments during the weeks taken up by the games.

“I think playing for your country is enough, but if you take [that] away, then there’s no other tournaments during the Olympics,” Fritz added.

“It’s not only you’re not getting points at the Olympics, you’re actually losing. You’re actually losing points. I’m defending a title that week. I lose that.”

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