Welcome to Routine Excellence, a new GQ column where high-achievers share the key rituals that help them perform at their best.
That gaming room isn’t just a place for Fritz to decompress after grueling practice sessions, though; it’s another training ground. It might seem counterintuitive, but recent studies, including a few that monitored adults playing Tetris, have shown that video games can actually be effective for managing stress. “There’ve been other studies, as well, showing that the game I play specifically—League of Legends—improves a lot of focus and cognitive things,” he says of the arena-style competition where teams of players battle as fantastical characters. “I’ve definitely noticed crossover: When I feel like my brain’s working well when I’m playing the game, my brain’s working well when I’m on the court.”
If you’re still dubious, Fritz has receipts. Take his run-up to the title at the 2023 Atlanta Open. “I was having such a good week playing in [League], and my mind felt so turned on. It’s like playing chess with pieces that are almost moving without your control.” (Which, when you think about it, isn’t all that different from tennis.)
Fritz didn’t drop a set en route to the final that week, then came out on top after a battle against Aleksandar Vukic. More than the results, though, he remembers the feeling: the sense that every calculation arrived a fraction of a second faster than usual. “How I was reading the mental side of things on the court, I just felt like it was so good. My decision-making and focus were elevated that week. My coach was like, ‘How were the games last night?’
“I was like, Good,” Fritz says with a laugh. “I felt locked in.”
We chatted with Fritz about how he lost weight to manage a knee injury in the off season, the sleep strategy he uses to prepare for night matches, and his go-to supplement stack.
GQ: When you have come off a training session, what is the very first thing that you are doing to start your recovery process?
Taylor Fritz: It’s kind of different. I feel like I train much harder when I’m actually at a competition. I usually start my morning in the gym, and after that session, the first thing I’ll do is [drink a] protein shake immediately. Then I’ll go and have my tennis practice. By then it’s afternoon, and probably the first thing I do is I’ll drive straight to Chipotle.
We did an interview for GQ back in 2022, and I remember that you’re just always hyper-focused on getting enough protein throughout the day. Is that still true?
Yeah. The science shows even people that aren’t athletes—but, I mean, especially even more so athletes—you should be trying to get your body weight in grams of protein a day. As a bigger guy, I weigh around 200 pounds, getting 200 grams of protein in a day is not easy. It’s something that you really have to actually take time to think about and strategize to actually get it done. Just eating normally, having one shake after a workout, I’m probably not going to get it there. So it is something that I am prioritizing.
For tennis players, there’s always that debate of what is tougher to manage: Is it the physical stress or the mental stress? I’m curious where you fall on that line.
It depends on the conditions we’re playing in. There are certain tournaments you’re showing up to where you know it’s just going to be so hot and so humid and maybe the conditions are a bit slower. You’re going to end up playing longer points, and it’s just going to be more physical. So there are definitely times where going into it, I know that it’s going to physically be a battle. And then there are a lot of matches that I’m going into, [like] grass plays very fast, so points are quick. I’m not really going into the match thinking that getting tired is going to be that much of an issue. And in those situations, it is more about how you mentally handle the moment.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you’re a big video game guy. League of Legends?
Huge. Yeah. Huge.
I saw a study recently about showing how video games can be really effective in managing or relieving stress. Is that an effective way for you to alleviate stress?
Yeah, it definitely helps me get my mind off things sometimes and decompress. When you’re training and traveling, you don’t always have the energy—nor even should you be going out and doing stuff. You need that time to do something that’s not as active. I enjoy the competition so much, and I think that’s why I love playing video games in my free time. There’ve been other studies, as well, showing that the game I play specifically—League of Legends—improves a lot of focus and cognitive things. I’ve definitely noticed crossover: When I feel like my brain’s working well when I’m playing the game, my brain’s working well when I’m on the court.
Is there a specific match you can point to where that exact connection between video games, League of Legends, you tapped into something and you felt that connection during an actual match?
The closest I would say was, I won the title in Atlanta one year. And specifically that year, I remember I was having such a good week playing in [League], and my mind felt so turned on. It’s like playing chess with pieces that are almost moving without your control. I could feel that my mind was just working really well, and then I could feel that whole week on the court as well. How I was reading the mental side of things on the court, I just felt like it was so good. I don’t think this is a coincidence that I can feel it in both aspects of something that I do a lot. I just know the ins and outs of it. It was very obvious to me that my decision-making and focus were elevated that week.
If you’re having a great week playing League, just the added confidence, that’s not going to hurt either on the court.
That was the joke when making that [final] specifically. My coach was like, “How are the games last night?” And I was like, “Good. I felt locked in.”
In the past couple years, tracking devices have become so prominent, especially for recovery. I think you were an Eight Sleep guy for a bit?
Yeah, huge. Still am. I’m such a big believer in Eight Sleep. There are a lot of cool features, and after you get in and explore the app, it really wins you over with it making adjustments in the night, it telling you all your sleep score stuff. It makes adjustments to lower how much I’m snoring, stuff like that. It’s incredible.
How much are you and your coaches taking data from things like Eight Sleep or other wearables to start implementing into your recovery after training or tournaments?
We track a good amount. There’s still a bit of an issue with tennis with wearing a lot of the wearables during actual matches, which obviously that data is super important. I think more stuff’s going to be approved in the future. Pretty sure on the men’s side, the only thing that’s actually approved is one of those Catapult sports bra-type things. But to be honest, it’s just not something I want to wear when we’re playing in potentially hundred-degree humid weather.
Once it gets approved, I would love to wear a heart rate monitor, a strap, anything like that. But when I am training, I’m, a lot of times, wearing something that’s monitoring my heart rate so I can track where my heart rate got to, what my average heart rate was throughout the practice, how many calories am I burning in this practice, stuff like that. And then we’re always checking the Eight Sleep app as well in the morning so I know how much I slept that night.
You’ve been dealing with tendonitis and some knee stuff earlier this season. I think it was on Andy Roddick’s podcast where I heard him talking a little bit about your knee injury. And I think he said there that you dropped 12 pounds recently?
Yeah, probably about 15 pounds.
All in service of combatting the tendonitis?
Yeah. Getting older, it’s not as easy for me to just eat what I want to eat and stay super skinny. And the knee played a part in it as well, because when the knee got bad, I couldn’t train as much on the tennis court.
As a result of that, I just wasn’t burning as many calories, but I still had the same eating habits. So slowly over the last year and a half dealing with the knee injury, I put on a little bit of weight. Obviously I wasn’t overweight or anything, but I felt like I was floating around a weight heavier than normal for quite a while. I’m like, If I just drop 10, 15 pounds, it’s going to take a little bit of load off of the knee. And also just, why not? Why not just lean out and do it in a way where I’m not losing muscle? When I lost the 15 pounds, all of the weights I was lifting in the gym actually went up as well. So if anything, I lost the weight while gaining muscle. So I did it in a very healthy way.
What was the timetable of losing that weight, and what was the approach to losing the weight?
It was about two and a half months. And it was pretty tough, I’d say just with the diet. But at the same time, it was the only period I was injured and taking time off of the tour. I was home for a little over a two-month period, so I could really get my routine sorted and just get into that routine that works for me. When I’m on the road traveling and playing matches, I can’t be trying to cut. I need to be eating so I have enough in my system to potentially play these long matches. It just felt like the only time I was going to have to really get after it. And the main thing I was following was my BMR is about 2,000 calories, and then at the time I wasn’t practicing a ton. My practices on the court were lighter because of the knee.
I was trying to rehab the knee, manage the knee. So I’d say my on-court was 600 to 800 calories burned maybe. And then I would hit some kind of a cardio, do an extra 500 later in the day. And then on top of that, a pretty aggressive lift in the morning. And the main thing I was sticking to was I was trying to do 200 grams of protein, 2,000 calories a day. I’d say a 1,000 to 1,200 deficit a day was the goal. And days I went a little harder on the court, then obviously naturally I had to just eat a little more to make up for it. I just stuck to making sure I got the protein I needed to supplement the muscle gain and kept the calories low. It’s really not rocket science when it comes to giving yourself the protein you need to gain muscle and keep putting yourself at a deficit.
Oftentimes people looking to get into fitness, wellness, they think it’s some sort of secret, splashy new thing that no one’s ever discovered, when really whether you’re trying to lose weight, whether you’re trying to gain muscle, you just have to be consistent with whatever you’re doing.
Yeah. Like I said, I was pretty much eating Chipotle every single day after my practice, because that was one of the meals that I found was the most friendly to getting the protein and still not going crazy on the calorie count. And like you said, just finding those routines and being home for that period of time, I felt like that was my chance to do it.
What’s the Chipotle order?
It was a lighter portion of rice, no beans, double chicken, the fajita veggies, and then I would go really light sour cream and cheese. Then I would get the hot salsa on the side and [add] just a little bit of that in there, because if I get it not on the side, it is a little too hot for me.
Another huge aspect for any pro athlete, but especially tennis players, is hydration. Beyond water, is there anything that helps you stay really hydrated?
A really big part of it is the hydration before you step on the court and the day before. I do believe, in some of these conditions we play in, it’s almost not possible to keep up with what you’re losing during the match. The 24 hours of hydration before you actually play is a big part of it, just having the electrolytes, having the water as well. And for a long time, I didn’t really care so much about whatever I was drinking that wasn’t the water. I would just drink whatever the tournament had, whether it be Powerade or Gatorade. Now I got a little bit more focused and am making sure I have something that has a lot of sodium and electrolytes. You need all that extra stuff because obviously you’re sweating out a lot more than just water.
At the same time, if I just start chugging water on the changeover, it feels so heavy once I go out there. So it goes back to what I was saying: It’s the pre-match night before, day before the match. And then I’ll do gels as well while I’m playing to get some extra carbs and energy.
On the electrolytes front, are there any specific products that you have found work really well for you?
I’ve been using the tablets. They made a specific one for Novak [Djokovic] that was called SILA. It was apparently his formula that he wanted designed in the tablet that you just put in the water. My logic was like, Hey, if it’s good enough for Novak… So I’ve been using that for a long time.
I’m sure you’ve dealt with other injuries throughout your career too. Have you found that there are certain things that help with getting back on the court?
It really depends on the injury. The really generic things are eating clean. There are a lot of foods that cause more inflammation in your body. Obviously, drinking alcohol is like…it’s not like I never drink alcohol. Obviously, I do drink alcohol, but that’s something that can cause a lot of inflammation in the body, as well. So maybe trying to avoid that when I’m trying to recover. It’s sleep. Sleep is such a massive thing when it comes to just healing and feeling better.
When you’re on tour and you’re going tournament to tournament—and sometimes you’re playing night session matches that can go five hours—are you an easy sleeper?
I’m definitely better at sleeping than the normal person. I can sleep whenever and wherever. I think sometimes maybe you play a night match and it’s a big win. I do feel a little pumped on adrenaline after winning the match, very high energy. But typically, maybe I’ll find out a couple days in advance if I’m going to be on that night schedule. I will start to adjust my body clock and start forcing myself to get on a schedule, maybe where I’m falling asleep at 1 a.m. and now waking up at, I don’t know, 11 a.m. or 12 p.m. the next day. And I’m just starting to get on this weird sleep cycle to where I will feel very awake and ready to play my match if I’m playing at eight. So I do try to adjust based on the times my matches are going to be once they let me know, just so it’s not one of those situations where I woke up at 9 a.m. and now I’m awake all day and I’m playing a match at 10 p.m. It’s doable, but you’re not going to be just performing. It’s not as optimal as it can be.
What’s your supplement stack?
Collagen for my tendon health. Creatine. Almost everyone’s deficient in vitamin D and the omega-3s. So vitamin D, fish oil, creatine are just stuff that it’s like, why wouldn’t you take it? Creatine now…there’s so much research on the cognitive benefits of it, not just the fact that it’s going to help you put on game muscle as well. Those are the ones that I think are very basic and you don’t need to be a gym person or an athletic, active person to take those and feel an improvement in your life.
Packing in the Protein
Fritz subscribes to the method of matching his bodyweight to grams of protein, meaning he consumes about 200 grams per day. “You really have to strategize to actually get it done,” he says.
A version of this story originally appeared in the September 2026 issue of GQ with the title “Routine Excellence with Tennis Phenom Taylor Fritz.”
Source: www.gq.com
