Taylor Fritz is long overdue for his Olympic debut. 

The 26-year-old tennis player has spent nearly a decade on the pro tour and already has left an indelible mark on U.S. men's tennis.

This year, the top American man will make his Olympic debut in Paris, primed and ready to contend for a medal in the City of Light. 

At age 2, Fritz, a native of Rancho Santa Fe, California, followed in his family's footsteps and first picked up a tennis racket. His father and uncle, Guy and Harry Fritz, played on the ATP circuit and were once ranked as high as 300 and 171, respectively. His mother, Kathy May, was also a professional tennis player. She reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals and a career-high rank of world No. 10.

In 2015, Fritz found success on the junior circuit, and that year reached at least the quarterfinal at each Grand Slam tournament. Fritz was named the ITF Junior World Champion and went on to win the U.S. Open Boys' singles title.

Galvanized by his Grand Slam win, Fritz turned pro in September 2015. Success on the junior circuit doesn't always translate to the pro tour, but Fritz quickly found his footing and shot up the pro tour ranks. In February of 2016, Fritz was on fire at the 2016 Memphis Open. After he received a wild card into the main draw, Fritz dismissed No. 2 seed Steve Johnson, ranked No. 29 at the time, the highest-ranked player Fritz had ever defeated. Fritz went on to make it to the final and became the youngest American to reach an ATP final since the start of the ATP Tour in 1990. Fritz's appearance in the Memphis final awarded the young player enough points to finally crack the top 100 in the ATP rankings.

In the years since, Fritz's game only has sharpened, as he's remained a top-50 player since 2019. Fritz's résumé includes some spectacular moments, including dismissing two-time Olympic gold medalist Rafael Nadal in 2022 at the Indian Wells final. Fritz's defeat of the Spaniard marked the first American men's champion at Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001. In total, Fritz has amassed eight titles and reached a career-high rank of world No. 5. With nearly 450 matches under his belt, it seems that there isn't much for Fritz left to do. But that will change this summer after Fritz finally steps upon the Olympic tennis court.

"I didn't want that to be like my first, I guess, Olympic experience," Fritz said of the restrictions in place at the 2020 Olympic Games. He passed on competing then but said 2024 is finally his Olympic time. 

So now I think it's time.

Competing with Team USA won't be a first for Fritz, as he is a longtime U.S. Davis Cup team member. The Davis Cup is an annual international tennis team event that pits countries against one another in a four-singles match, one-doubles match competition format. The U.S. team has been the most successful since the competition's inception, with 32 wins over its 124 years in play.

At the Davis Cup Qualifier in February against the Ukraine, Fritz clocked a singles win when he defeated Vladyslav Orlov (6-3, 6-4), helping the team have a 4-0 sweep. The qualifier victory clinched the Americans' spot in the 16-nation Davis Cup Finals Group Stage. Fritz's Davis Cup teammates, Chris Eubanks, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajieck, are also on the U.S. Olympic tennis roster, making Fritz's Olympic debut shared with longtime friends.

"I've known these these guys for my entire life basically, and they're some of my closest friends," Fritz said. "So, I'm just really excited to be there with them, hanging out with them, and kind of experiencing this whole thing with them."

Because most American players are raised and train on the hard courts, American tennis players seem to struggle on clay. The signature American big baseliners, with even bigger serves, see the efficacy of their  powerful shots shrink, diminished by the heavy clay, changing their game and often, changing a match outcome. Clay court tennis, for many Americans, is a game of enduring the bad and muddling through until the low and fast grass season finally arrives.

Even though many Americans have shirked the clay-court swing, Fritz has leaned in and embraced it. Fritz is a regular on the European red clay every season, and his time on the volatile surface has paid off. During this year's clay court season, Fritz became the first U.S. man to reach the quarterfinals or better of all three clay-court master's 1000 tournaments, leading the young player to playfully dub himself "Claylor."
 

Fritz's penchant for clay was prominent at the French Open this year when he made his career-best run on the clay, advancing to the fourth round. The Paris Games will be held at the same site as the French Open, Roland-Garros, with the iconic red dust kicking about with each Olympic match. 

Heading into the Olympic tournament, he knows there are major contenders he may have to dismiss on his way to the gold medal. 

"I mean everyone's good, but I think the main people to watch out for are going to be Carlos [Alcaraz], [Jannik] Sinner, Novak [Djokovic] and Rafa [Rafael Nadal]."

While the American knows the switch from the Wimbledon grass back to clay will be difficult, he knows that if he can find his form, he will be a formidable opponent at the Olympics.

"I've never done this grass-to-clay court switch before ever," Fritz said. "I'm really hoping that I can find that clay game and that clay form that I had at the end of the clay court season because obviously, I had those results on clay. I'm just hoping I can get that form back as quick as possible because if I'm playing the way that I was playing at the French Open before I got injured, I think I'm a serious threat."

Rest is vital between matches for Fritz on the demanding ATP tour, but in Paris, he wants to make the most of his Olympic experience and hopes to watch other sports during the Games.

"Most weeks on tour, I like to keep it super chill and like to stay in my room and not really do anything, Fritz said. "I think at the Olympics I'm definitely going to be trying my best to get around and do things and you know, make the most of my free time."

It's easy to get swept up in the excitement over the entire Games experience, but Fritz still has his eye on the Olympic prize.

"I'm really excited to play for my country," Fritz said. "And hopefully try to win a medal."