Taylor Fritz was forced to change his plans. The American player withdrew from the 2025 Mexican Open in Acapulco.
The start of the 2025 season has been a mixed bag for Fritz. He won the United Cup with the United States, but if it wasn't for his teammate Coco Gauff, Team USA could have been eliminated earlier.
Fritz lost already his opening match against Felix Auger-Aliassime, but he won all of the remaining matches, helping to guide his country to the trophy.
After that, the 27-year-old American player lost already in the third round of the Australian Open. He couldn't improve his results on the home soil either. Fritz lost his second match at the Dallas Open, and he was eliminated in his second match at the Delray Beach Open as well.
His packed schedule should have continued at the 2025 Mexican Open in Acapulco, but Fritz chose to withdraw from the tournament despite traveling to Mexico.
Shortly before the draw for the ATP 500 tournament was made, the eight-time ATP titlist announced his withdrawal. Fritz said that he's been struggling with an abdominal injury during the whole stretch after the Australian Open, which his results prove.
The American player hoped that the injury would improve over time, but since it didn't, he was forced to withdraw to avoid making the issue worse.
"Really sad that I have to pull out of Acapulco this year. I’ve been dealing with an abdominal injury since the week before Dallas. I have been playing through the injury, hoping that it could get better because several parts of my game were and still are pain-free."
Fritz admitted that since he can't play at the 100% of his abilities, he would rather use this time to recover and be ready for the upcoming part of the season.
"I’m at a point now where it has not improved, and it’s frustrating to be playing when I know I can’t play 100% and am avoiding certain shots or just hitting shots differently than I normally would to avoid the pain."
The American player said that he always enjoyed competing in Acpulco. He reached the semi-finals in 2023, and even though he lost already in the first round last year, he was excited to return to Mexico again.
"Acapulco has always been one of my favorite events and I’m really sorry to let the tournament down. I’m hoping that giving it this week to rest and rehab will get me back to 100% soon."
Fritz will now focus on his recovery, as a very important part of the calendar is coming up. All top players will compete at the Indian Wells Open and the subsequent Miami Open, and as one of the former champions in Indian Wells, the American will be among the dark horses.