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Taylor Fritz thanked his girlfriend Morgan Riddle for constantly supporting him throughout his tennis career following his quarterfinal win at Wimbledon
He misspoke a bit — calling Riddle like a “mother” to him while he trains — and admitted it “maybe wasn’t the best choice of words”
This is Fritz’s ninth Wimbledon and his first time in the final four
Taylor Fritz is praising his girlfriend Morgan Riddle for her unwavering support.
The tennis player, 27, spoke to the audience at Wimbledon after his 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) quarterfinal win over Karen Khachanov, and thanked Riddle for always standing by him throughout his various competitions in the five years they’ve been together.
“There’s been a pretty constant results and ranking rise since we’ve been together,” Fritz said, per ESPN. “I think I would have to say she’s been a big help to me just kind of keeping me focused, having someone who cares and just pushes you to just do better and do the right things, be healthier.”
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Taylor Fritz.
“Almost like kind of just mother me, in a way, with like, the diet and going to sleep on time,” Fritz said with a laugh, then added, “Yeah, that maybe wasn’t the best choice of words.”
Earlier in his speech, Fritz poked fun at a tough-love motivational note he wrote himself — which Riddle, an influencer, recently shared to social media — after losing at the same tennis championships four years prior. The note, that was “never supposed to be public,” read: “Nobody in the whole world is underachieving harder than you.”
But despite Riddle sharing the note with the world, Fritz forgives her, he said — she’s had such a big impact on him and his career, he noted.
Fritz is now on to the semifinals, his first time earning a spot in the final four at Wimbledon. He’s competed nine times at Wimbledon, per the competition’s official site, with the first being in 2016.
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Taylor Fritz and Morgan Riddle at the Laver Cup Gala on September 21, 2023 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Fritz and Riddle, an influencer seeking to “make tennis cool again,” have been together since 2020 when they met on the dating app Raya. Since then, she’s attended Fritz’s major competitions alongside him, cheering him on while also sharing with a younger generation the draws to tennis.
“It’s great to have somebody that can support you and support your goals,” Fritz told PEOPLE in 2023. “It’s been great. I feel like we’re very much a team, and it’s been great to have.”
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