The U.S. number-one player and his TikTok star girlfriend are the most photogenic couple in the tennis world. They tell C Magazine how they went from courtside sweethearts to fashion’s favorite new faces
Photography by CHRISTIAN ANWANDER
Styling by CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL
Words by RACHEL MARLOWE
Taylor wears HERMÈS coat, $18,700, shirt, $1,175, and pants, $1,375. CARTIER bracelet, $3,550. ROLEX watch, his own. Morgan wears MAXMARA sweater, $1,260, and shorts, $695. Vintage rings, prices upon request, from PALACE COSTUME, LOS ANGELES.
If you tuned into the US Open this year, you will have seen a couple of telegenic faces stealing the show. On court, U.S. number one Taylor Fritz aced his way to the quarter finals, only to be defeated by eventual champion Novak Djokovic. Cheering him on in the Grey Goose box and pumping her fist in the air was his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, leading the New York Times to declare them the Posh ’n’ Becks of tennis.
Fritz was born into tennis. His mother, Kathy May, was a professional player who won seven WTA singles titles during her career and reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals. His father, Guy, also competed professionally before becoming a coach. Growing up in San Diego, where most of his friends were into surfing or skating, Fritz says he always knew he wanted to be a professional athlete. “I didn’t really care which sport, though,” he says. “I didn’t even watch a ton of tennis growing up, but it was the sport I became best at.”
By the age of 15, Fritz had left school to play on the junior circuit, becoming the number-one-ranked junior player in the world at 17. In 2022 he shocked the world by becoming Indian Wells champion after claiming a straight set victory over Rafael Nadal. Currently ranked number one in the U.S. and eighth in the world, the SoCal-born, 6-foot-5-inch, big-hitting baseliner has recently earned another title: one half of tennis’ hottest it couple.
The pair famously met on the A-lister dating app Raya during the pandemic and moved in together after just a few weeks. Riddle, a petite blonde social media sensation from St. Paul, Minn., started accompanying Fritz on the ATP Tour circuit in 2021 and left her job the following year. “Taylor and I had been together for two years,” she says. “I’d been working a corporate job and was waking up at 3 a.m. to take meetings in the hotel room bathtub while he was sleeping. It got to a point where I said, ‘I can’t make my life work with yours if our careers are not somehow intertwined.’ He wanted me to travel with him full time — and he plays better when I’m there — so we said, ‘What are we going to do?’” The answer came in the form of a GRWM (Get Ready With Me) TikTok video for a tennis match she filmed while at the Australian Open that racked up 1.5 million views and kicked off a new career as an influencer.
GIVENCHY vest, $3,450, T-shirt, $890, and pants, $2,790. CARTIER bracelet, $3,550. Necklace and ROLEX watch, Taylor’s own.
STELLA McCARTNEY coat, $4,300. FENDI tank top, $1,690. HERMÈS leather shorts, $6,450. FALKE socks, $28. GUCCI shoes, $990. L’ATELIER NAWBAR earrings, $2,535, GOSHWARA necklace, $2,400, and vintage hexagon amulet necklace, $4,000, at ROSEARK.
Fast-forward two years: While Fritz has been holding on to the title of America’s top-ranked player, Riddle has made a name for herself as a next-gen WAG for the digital era, vlogging regularly about her tennis match looks and her travels around the world. She has even established herself as an ambassador of sort for the sport, committed to raising tennis’ cool factor among a younger crowd. “The first time I went to a game with Taylor it was apparent that the demographic was not my people,” she says. “I grew up in Minnesota and did not have a single friend who played tennis, probably because we were more of a hockey state. I didn’t know anything about the sport when I met Taylor.” To that end, she posted a video last year titled “On a personal mission to make tennis cool again” that showed the pair jet-setting around the world. Even among people who already thought tennis was cool, the video caused a stir and boosted popularity of her BTS tennis tournament and OOTD (outfit of the day) posts — to the point that the Wimbledon tournament approached her to host a video series covering fashion at the tournament. “The year before I had made this video about what people were wearing at Wimbledon that basically consisted of me standing outside the VIP entrance of Centre Court for about 10 hours over the course of three or four days,” she says. “The Whisper team, which is the production company for Wimbledon, saw the video and reached out because they were looking for fresh content to attract a younger audience.” The Wimbledon Threads series ultimately caught the fashion world’s attention, leading to a flurry of New York Fashion Week (NYFW) invites from designers including Staud, Alice+Olivia, LoveShackFancy, and Bronx and Banco. “I feel like I’ve always had a good and strong personal sense of style,” she says, “but recently I’ve started to learn more about fashion. I just did my first New York Fashion Week and it was really cool to learn more about designers, runway looks, and how stylists work. I just started working with a stylist, too. She’s actually one of my friends from high school.” Fritz, meanwhile, is also a budding fashion icon, starring in a recent Frame campaign and walking the runway for Hermès during NYFW in addition to his roles as a Nike and Rolex ambassador. Unfazed by the experience, he says, “It’s just walking and keeping a straight face. Over the past few years I have been a lot more into fashion. It’s something that I definitely want to do more of to build my brand. I remember saying to one of my friends when we were 15 or 16 that if tennis didn’t work out I would model, and obviously tennis has opened the door to do a lot of things.”
“I remember saying to one of my friends that if tennis didn’t work out I would model”
Taylor Fritz
TAYLOR FRITZ wears FENDI jacket, GUCCI sweater, DRIES VAN NOTEN pants, CARTIER necklace and bracelet, ROLEX watch. MORGAN RIDDLE wears LOUIS VUITTON and vintage jewelry.
The couple clearly have a lot in common, which is essential, as they spend an average of 35 weeks a year on the road. The day before this cover shoot they had just returned from Vancouver, where Fritz and his fellow Team World players took home the Laver Cup Trophy and had 72 hours to do their laundry and pack before jetting off to China for the Shanghai Masters, followed by Tokyo for the Japan Open Tennis Championships, Switzerland for the Basel Indoors, and France for the Paris Masters. “Tomorrow I’m filming a pack-with-me-for-a-six-week-trip YouTube video,” says Riddle. “So that’s what I’m going to be doing all night and all day, and then we leave Saturday morning.” Among their favorite destinations? “Sydney for the Australian Open,” says Riddle. “It’s summer and everyone is off work and in the best mood. I’ve made a ton of friends there that I met through Instagram.”
For Fritz it’s also about the vibe. “Tennis is a really popular sport in Australia, and there’s definitely a lot of excitement around that week,” he says. “I also really love Tokyo, so that’s where I’ll be motivated to make the extra time to do things. I’m normally pretty tired from training, so I’d rather just stay in and keep it simple. But if Morgan really wants to go out we make the effort.”
In preparation for their upcoming visit, the pair got their international driver’s licenses in order to do the Super Mario Kart experience. “You literally dress up as Super Mario characters and drive around the streets of Tokyo,” says Riddle. “He’s going to be Yoshi and I’m going to be Princess Peach. There’s also a Meerkat Cafe that we really like. We love meerkats.”
Taylor wears PRADA cardigan with collar, $2,950. Tank top and ROLEX watch, his own. CARTIER bracelet, $3,550. Morgan wears GUCCI top, $1,650, and pants, $3,200. DAVID YURMAN bracelets, $295 and $425. L’ATELIER NAWBAR choker, $3,800, GOSHWARA necklace, $2,400, and PEREZ BITAN ring, $3,360, at ROSEARK.
But living out of a suitcase can be also be difficult, lonely, and boring. “Now that I’m seven or eight years into it I am realizing how very little time off I get,” says Fritz, who has spoken about the emotional and mental support he gets from having Riddle travel with him. Riddle, meanwhile, has been open about her mental health struggles. “I’ve suffered from anxiety and depression since I was in high school,” she says. “People message me about these issues a lot, so I’ve continued to talk about them and share practical tips and tools I use, like therapy, reading, and podcasts. I can link my favorite lip gloss on my Instagram stories all day, but I also want to feel like what I’m doing is actually making an impact.”
While on tour she also hangs out a lot with Nina Ghaibi, Canadian player Félix Auger-Aliassime’s girlfriend. Sebastian Korda’s girlfriend, Ivana Nedved, is also a close friend. “We’re going to get to hang out in Shanghai for two weeks, so we make it a girls’ trip, which is nice,” she says. “I’ve gone through periods where I felt lonely, but I make friends anywhere and everywhere.”
On the rare occasion that they are at home for more than a week, Riddle will foster a litter of kittens. “That takes up my entire time because I get attached to them and won’t leave the apartment,” she says. Fritz also likes to unwind when he’s home. “I don’t want to do too much,” he says. “Sleep, play video games, play golf with friends, and hang out with my son [6-year-old Jordan, whom he shares with ex-wife and fellow tennis player Raquel Pedraza].” They might also venture out for breakfast burritos and coffee at Dialogue Cafe in WeHo, followed by shopping on Melrose Avenue, or head to Malibu’s El Matador Beach and then dinner at Broad Street Oyster Company.
At the end of the day, however, Fritz’s top priority is always tennis, training, and bringing more attention to the sport. “I feel like tennis here is popular and relevant only for the two weeks of the US Open, so it would be cool to see the same excitement and coverage throughout the year,” he says. “I think that’s already happening. Coco Gauff is doing it for sure, especially after winning the US Open this year, and for a long time it was Serena and Venus. What they’ve done for the sport is amazing, but women had been carrying that flag for a really long time. It would be great to see someone on the men’s side winning Grand Slams and contending for the number-one spot in the world.” Watch this ace.
GIVENCHY sweater, price upon request, hooded sweatshirt, $990, leather skirt, $2,850, and pants, $3,350.
STAN LOS ANGELES jacket, $1,800. Vintage 1930s bandana, $164, at MELET TOPANGA.
MICHAEL KORS shearling coat, $2,250, sweater, $1,250, and boots, $1,195. SAINT LAURENT jeans, $1,050. PEREZ BITAN ring, $3,360, at ROSEARK.
DIOR MEN jacket, $8,900, and pants, price upon request. CARTIER bracelet, $3,550. Tank top and ROLEX watch, Taylor’s own.
Taylor wears LOUIS VUITTON shirt, $2,020, and pants, $1,399. CARTIER necklace, $8,500. Tank top and ROLEX watch, his own. Morgan wears MIU MIU dress, $6,700. VAN CLEEF & ARPELS earrings, $27,800, clip (worn as a beret), $7,200, rings, each $6,800, and bracelet, $25,200.
SAINT LAURENT jacket, $7,500, blouse, $1,690, belt, $575, and jeans, $1,050. CARTIER necklaces, $20,400 and $11,000, and rings, $9,300, $2,590, and $3,450.
Hair by ANDRE GUNN for Art Department using T3MICRO.
Makeup by ANDRE SARMIENTO at A-Frame Agency using LANCÖME.
TAYLOR FRITZ wears FENDI jacket, GUCCI sweater, DRIES VAN NOTEN pants, CARTIER necklace and bracelet, ROLEX watch. MORGAN RIDDLE wears LOUIS VUITTON and vintage jewelry.
Feature image: TAYLOR FRITZ wears FENDI jacket, GUCCI sweater, DRIES VAN NOTEN pants, CARTIER necklace and bracelet, ROLEX watch. MORGAN RIDDLE wears LOUIS VUITTON and vintage jewelry.
This story originally appeared in the Fashionable Living 2023 issue of C Magazine.
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