Professional tennis player and avid gamer Taylor Fritz might owe part of his career-best Wimbledon performance to an internet troll. After securing a spot in his first Wimbledon tennis tournament semifinal by defeating Karen Khachanov, Fritz posted on social media:
The comment is more than just a joke. The term and insult for telling someone to go "touch grass" has become popular online, usually thrown around in gaming communities to suggest someone is spending too much time indoors or being overly involved in online drama. For Fritz who ranked No. 4 in the world in tennis it may have been the perfect mix of motivation and humor.
While dominating the tennis courts, Fritz is also better than your average League of Legends player, sitting in the top 12% globally. He prefers to play the role of Jungle and holds a rank of Emerald 3, showing a surprising amount of skill and dedication for someone with a grueling professional athletic schedule. He’s also been known to stream his matches on Twitch, giving fans a glimpse into his off-court persona.
But don’t expect him to play on match days. Fritz has made it clear how hard it is to game:
"It sounds crazy, but the game and especially the position I play in the game is very mentally taxing and mentally draining… I have to be super dialed in."
It turns out Fritz has been doing more than just figuratively "touching grass." Seeing that he has had a wildly successful grass-court season, winning titles at both Stuttgart and Eastbourne before heading into Wimbledon. Across five Wimbledon victories, he’s racked up nearly 13 hours on court, demonstrating not only stamina but peak form.
While it's unlikely that a simple all chat comment from a League of Legends player is truly what pushed Fritz to this point, the moment captures the unique intersection of esports culture and elite athleticism. It also reflects Fritz's unique mindset someone who thrives on competition whether it's on the court or in the jungle on the rift.
If he pulls off an upset against Alcaraz, it might be the first time in history that trash talk from an online video game directly preceded a Grand Slam final. Touching grass, indeed. What are your thoughts on the hilarious tweet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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