Tennis player Taylor Fritz sat down with 'Haute Living' for his cover story and revealed what he learned after having a son.
Focusing on himself! Tennis pro Taylor Fritz sat down with Haute Living for his cover story and told the magazine what he learned from having his son, Jordan, 6, at 19 years old with his now ex-wife, Raquel Pedraza.
"I think [having a kid] taught me a lot of lessons about time management. ... It also taught me to not care so much about other people's opinions. ... I was always very concerned about how my career would be affected, the things people were saying, and things of that nature," Fritz, 24, told the publication.
"I learned one, not to care, and two, just to handle my business and be as productive as possible. I mean, I do have more things to manage now, and I definitely had to grow up fast, but it was always going to be like that anyway. I was traveling the world when I was 17 to play tennis, so regardless of my own personal things, you have to grow up pretty fast in this sport anyway," he added.
The tennis player continued to explain how his personal life was impacted by his dedication to the sport.
"I worked really hard for a really long time for this. And, for a really long time, I really have given up a normal life — though I probably held on to [normalcy] longer than most other players did. ... I made the decision that I was going to dedicate everything I had to tennis," he noted.
Fritz's current schedule: "Now I’m traveling 10 months out of the year. I don't get to be home much. I don't get to hang out with friends a lot. My friends that I'm the closest with are other players traveling with me on the tour."
"When I’m home, I'm training — spending half of my day in the gym or on the court, trying to practice, trying to get better — because if you don't, if you actually take time off when you’re not in a tournament, you won't be able to compete on the same level. So, even when you're off, you're not really off, and that's kind of just how it is. It's tough, but I've just accepted it,” he said.
Luckily, Fritz's ambition and dedication keeps him motivated through everything.
"I'm not satisfied with just being the best American player. I want to go even further. I want to be one of the best players in the world. ... I am extremely competitive, so with everything I'm doing, I feel like I need to be competing,” he explained.
"Even now, resting after a long day of training, I'm immediately trying to play video games as some type of ranking system, where I can play against other people," he continued.
But when Fritz does find time to go on vacation, he does his best to let himself truly unwind, so that he comes back even more prepared.
"When I feel like it’s appropriate to take time off and I don't need to be training, I do try to make the most of it, for sure, because it doesn’t happen much," he said. "I feel like you almost need those little resets where you can relax or have fun. It's easier for me to push myself to work harder and be even more motivated after getting that time to relax."
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