7 hours ago
3
Taylor Fritz has stormed into the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time - and the men's American No. 1 has credited his influencer girlfriend Morgan Riddle for his performance in recent years.
The couple have been dating since 2020 after meeting on celebrity dating app Raya, and both have seen their stars rise in that time.
'There's been a pretty constant results-and-ranking rise since we've been together,' Fritz said after beating Karen Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals.
'I think I would have to say she's been a big help to me just kind of keeping me focused, having someone who cares and just pushes you to just do better and do the right things, be healthier.'
Fritz, who will aim to defeat Carlos Alcaraz on Friday in possibly the biggest match of his career, has gone from an 'underachieving' player in his own words to a fixture late in tournaments.
And Riddle has become perhaps the most preeminent influencer in tennis, as she shares glimpses of the off-court lifestyle and the private jet flights, shopping trips and courtside seats that go along with following Fritz on tour.
Morgan Riddle has become a fixture in tennis as she's supported boyfriend Taylor Fritz
The couple have been dating since 2020, and Fritz has credited Riddle for his success
Fritz has stormed into the Wimbledon semis and will face Carlos Alcaraz on Friday
Riddle, who has more than a million followers combined between Instagram and TikTok, left her job as a social media director for a fashion brand to support Fritz on tour.
And she shot to fame during the Australian Open in 2022 after she posted a 'get ready with me' video that went viral on social media.
The video scored 1.5million views and set off her trajectory as an influencer within the sport, which has seen her collaborate with British Vogue and even Wimbledon itself.
The fashion-forward girlfriend of Fritz has collaborated with the iconic British tournament on a series called Wimbledon Threads, where she dives into the world of tennis fashion.
Fritz has also walked the runway at Milan Fashion Week, and the pair posed for a New York Times spread in 2023 - with the publication dubbing her 'the most famous woman in men's tennis.'
Riddle graduated from New York City's Wagner College with a Bachelor's Degree in English Language and Literature in 2019 before working in a fashion.
However, she has said she takes 'no offence' to the term 'WAG' as she's leveraged Fritz's success for her own.
'Anyone in the position of being a partner to a professional athlete knows how difficult and stressful it is to support someone in their position,' she told Harper's Bazaar.
Riddle has been supporting Fritz on tour for several years. Here, she is seen congratulating him after he won the Indian Wells championship in 2022
Riddle has accrued more than a million followers across her social media accounts
Riddle looks on during Fritz's third round Wimbledon match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
'If people want to disregard me because I'm 'just a WAG,' so be it. It's a privilege to be underestimated.'
During the Australian Open last year, where Fritz achieved a career-best quarterfinal run in Melbourne, Riddle saw a massive rise in her popularity on social media.
Still, she's dealt with critics within the sport - even from Fritz's rival, Alexander Zverev.
After a five-set thriller at Wimbledon last year won by Fritz, Zverev expressed displeasure over the noise coming from Fritz's box, where Riddle was seated.
Fritz's win was also followed by a cryptic social media post from Riddle, which appeared to reference domestic violence accusations against Zverev.
Riddle posted (and then deleted) an Instagram video that included the caption: 'when your man wins 4 the girls.' Zverev has denied two separate accusations of abuse against women, but paid one of the victims, Brenda Patea, $217,820 in a settlement.
The tennis influencer also previously revealed that the wives of some older players on tour had privately mocked her.
'I think historically, a lot of the older wives and partners on the [tennis] tour have been very private, heads down, in the box,' Riddle began on 'The Squeeze' podcast. 'They're there to cheer on their partner and they didn't have super public personas.
She later continued: 'I don't know if this is true, but I've been told by people on the tennis tour that when I was first posting TikTok [videos] a couple years ago, there was a clique of older wives on the tour and they would send my videos in their group chat and just make fun of me.
'So I definitely got a lot of backlash, both from within in the tennis community and the fans - I think because it was different. And I'm calling attention to myself. I guess people expected me to sit in the box, be relatively private and not capitalize on my partner's career. And I kinda came in guns blazing. I was like, 'well, f*** that,' and posted whatever I wanted to.'
Riddle has said she's not offended by the term 'WAG', which stands for 'wives and girlfriends'
She'll be on hand to cheer on Fritz as he attempts to beat Carlos Alcaraz on Friday
Riddle has certainly not let those critics stop her from posting, and she's been busy at Wimbledon keeping her followers up to date on what she's been up to.
Earlier in the tournament, she captioned a photo of herself in a pink dress 'we are soooo back.'
Riddle even posted something akin to a short film to document her experience at SW19, which artistically showcased some sights of the tournament. Some followers compared it to a Wes Anderson film.
However, as Fritz seeks his first Grand Slam title, there is one social media post from Riddle that has become especially relevant.
In 2022, she took to her Instagram to share a 2021 note her boyfriend wrote to himself after a Wimbledon loss.
'Nobody in the whole world is underachieving harder than you, you are so f***ing good but 40 in the world get your f***ing s*** together.'
He certainly has done just that, and Riddle will be there cheering him once again on Friday.
