Taylor Fritz rings in 2025 off-season with cameo at Celebrity Poker Championships

Taylor Fritz folded in his first outing of the 2025 off-season, falling at the first hurdle of the annual Celebrity Poker Championships—but not before nailing a viral screenshot of his signature poker face.

The stoic American was papped at the poker table by eagle-eyed fans who caught him next to Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler. Also at the table? Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps.

Fritz was perhaps looking to reignite a lucky streak after a tough end to his tennis season, falling in the round-robin stage of the Nitto ATP Finals after defeats to Carlos Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur, the latter scoring the straight-sets win necessary to eliminate the 2024 finalist from semifinal contention.

“I'm going to have a little bit of time off,” Fritz said after the de Minaur loss. “I'm really excited. This is the first off-season I'm going to have in probably three or four years that's three weeks or more than three weeks (smiling), so...

“I'm hoping that instead of playing catch-up with injuries in my body, this time around I can actually get healthy and be able to train.”

The 28-year-old indeed had a busy fall swing, leading Team World to an upset victory over Team Europe and reaching his third ATP final of the season in Tokyo, where he lost to Alcaraz.

“If you want to win a big title, more than likely you're going to have to beat one of 'em, maybe both of 'em,” Fritz said of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who went on to defend his ATP Finals title over Alcaraz in the championship match.

“That's kind of just what my focus is on, trying to get healthy so then I can put in the time on the court to practice and improve and try to get better and work on the things I need to work on and to continue to try and close the gap.”

After this well-earned break, Fritz will play his first event of the fast-approaching 2026 season in Perth for United Cup, where he’ll partner Coco Gauff in hopes of rediscovering a winning hand and defending the title for Team USA.