Taylor Fritz suffered a painful loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Masters, dropping a three-set thriller 6-7(10-12), 7-5, 6-3 despite holding two match points. The defeat cost Fritz dearly, eliminating him from contention for the ATP Finals in Turin later this month. Alcaraz advanced to face Casper Ruud in the semifinals.
Fritz arrives at the Stockholm Open as the top seed but faces a challenging path forward. After receiving a first-round bye, he could meet Cameron Norrie or James Duckworth in his opening match, with potential quarterfinal opponents including Holger Rune, Arthur Rinderknech or Zizou Bergs. Lorenzo Musetti and defending champion Casper Ruud loom as possible semifinal obstacles.
The Paris loss also ended Fritz's run as America's year-end number one, a position he held every year since 2021. Ben Shelton will finish 2026 as the top-ranked American player.
