There should be exemptions," says Fritz about the ATP 500 rule
Taylor Fritz is competing this week in Washington, a tournament he admitted he hadn’t necessarily planned to play initially.
Due to a rule requiring players to compete in a certain number of ATP 500 events, the American was forced to participate after missing the first two of the season due to injury.
In comments reported by *Tennis Up To Date*, he stated: "Yes, there’s a rule that requires us to play a certain number of ATP 500s, and I was injured early in the year, so I missed two.
So to meet the required number of 500s I need to play, I have to compete in Washington, Tokyo, and Basel. There are no other 500 weeks I can make up.
I think if that weren’t the case, there’s a strong chance I wouldn’t have come (to Washington).
It felt like a very quick change, but at the same time, playing matches, competing in the heat, practicing here—there are positives I can take from playing this week.
I think it’s a good way to get into the rhythm, you know, playing these humid and hot hardcourt matches.
When I first heard about the rule earlier this year, I didn’t think it would affect me.
I figured I’d be playing ATP 500s anyway. But I missed two due to injuries, so now I’m forced to make them up.
I think there should be exemptions. There are exemptions for Masters 1000s—I believe it’s for Grand Slam winners after a certain age.
I’m not entirely sure about the 1000s, but there should probably be exemptions for the 500s as well.
