"When I was younger, didn't get injured too easily" - Taylor Fritz blames frequent ball changes on tour for more injuries

Taylor Fritz has attributed the rise in injuries to players on tour to the frequent ball changes following his Australian Open first-round win on Sunday.

Over the last few months, many top players have complained about the variable bounce of balls at tournaments leading to shoulder, wrist and hand injuries. Fritz seems to concur, saying that he used to get injured a lot less during his early days on tour.

The 26-year-old faced an unexpectedly tough outing in his Melbourne opener, finding himself two sets to one down against Argentine left-hander Facundo Diaz Acosta. However, the American dug deep - dropping just six more games - to beat his opponent and improve to 9-11 in career five-sets.

In his post-match press conference, Fritz talked about the frequent ball changes on tour leading to player injuries:

"Absolutely, yeah. I feel like I'm someone who is normally - I mean, when I was younger anyways - like, didn't get injured too easily. I've been really feeling it.

"It's not so much like the specific ball that injures us. In some cases it is. But it's more just you get used to one, and then when you change to something that's a bit heavier, your wrist or your elbow or whatever is taking the force. Everyone is different. Everyone hits the ball different, grips, all that stuff."

Fritz's second-round opponent at the Australian Open is yet to be decided.

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Taylor Fritz unsure of his chances of winning a medal at Paris Olympics in 2024

Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz is set to compete in his first Olympics, which will take place on clay in Paris later this year.

Having not played the quadrennial games before, the American reckons he could have better medal-winning chances at the next Olympics at 'home' in Los Angeles in 2028. In the same press conference, the American said:

"For me, the way I look at it is I think you go to try to win a medal. I think my best opportunity to win a medal will probably be when it's in the States in four years.

"I think my chances will be better if I have already played an Olympics before and kind of have that experience under my belt, and I'm not just showing up for the first time to play the Olympics when I'm 30. That's kind of my thought process."

Taylor Fritz is 2-1 in the season after opening 2024 with a win and a loss at the United Cup mixed team event earlier this month.