World number six Taylor Fritz faces a race to be fully fit for this month’s Australian Open after revealing that a lingering knee problem has limited his preparation at the start of the season.

The American, who finished runner-up at the 2024 US Open, appeared frustrated during his 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Argentina’s Sebastián Báez at the United Cup in Perth. Fritz admitted the niggling knee issue prevented him from pushing himself physically and suggested a potential break from competition may be necessary to fully resolve the problem.

“This isn’t the way I want to start the year,” Fritz said. “There’s definitely a lot of rust showing.”

Regarded as one of the leading contenders heading into the first Grand Slam of the season at Melbourne Park, Fritz explained that he spent much of the off-season focused on rehabilitating knee tendinopathy — a condition he acknowledged can take months to heal.

“I spent pretty much the entire off-season trying to rehab it,” he said. “It’s something that takes a long time to get better. I wasn’t able to play a lot of points because I’m trying not to push it too hard.”

Fritz added that he plans to continue managing the issue while increasing his time on court, though he conceded a more decisive approach may be required if progress stalls.

“I’ll try to get more court time while managing it,” he said. “But if that doesn’t work in a couple of months, then I’ll just have to stop completely and fix it.”

The Australian Open is scheduled to take place from January 18 to February 1.