Taylor Fritz Withdraws from Monte-Carlo: Rest of Clay Season Still In Doubt?

Taylor Fritz has had a strange start to the season, playing under a persistent injury cloud as the top American has admitted that his right knee hasn’t felt quite “right” for some time. Rather than shut things down, Fritz opted to continue rehabbing during the season, believing he could both improve the knee and keep earning points to remain inside the Top 10.

For a refresher, here’s what Fritz said about the injury in January during the Australian Open:

“So I was fully ready to shut it down for a couple of months to get it better, but my physio, who I trust, said there’s a pretty solid chance we can do all the rehab protocol while I’m still playing. I can rest between tournaments and maybe not play as many.

“He thinks it’s plausible to get it better while playing, so we said let’s try that and see how it goes.”

That’s exactly what Fritz has done—with mixed results so far in 2026.

He exits Miami following a round-of-16 loss to Jiri Lehecka with a 12-8 record on the season, including a concerning 2-7 mark against Top 50 opponents.

The World No. 7 will now step away from the tour, at least temporarily. It was announced Thursday that he will not compete in Monte-Carlo due to the injury.

Monte-Carlo runs from April 5–12.

Speaking after his loss to Lehecka, Fritz told Ben Rothenberg of Bounces that while clay may be easier on his knee, that alone won’t determine his schedule.

“The clay should actually be the easiest on the knee… that’s what bothers it most, the hard landing,” Fritz said. “If I can keep it less irritated, it gives me more room to progress with rehab.

“But if I play and it doesn’t work out, I’m in a really bad spot for grass season, when I really need to be healed.”

Will Fritz also skip big events in Madrid and Rome? Could he possible take the clay season to finally get his knee right? Stay tuned…

If his words to Rothenberg from Miami are any indication, it will be hard to keep the former US Open finalist and World No. 4 off the court.

“I hate being in a spot where people are picking up points, and I’m not giving myself an opportunity to pick up points. It sucks,” he admitted. “I hate having to kind of play catch-up, like I did last year: I came back at the end of clay court season, and I was like 20th in the Race. And I was stressed out that we’re halfway through the year and I was like 20th in the Race.