Taylor Fritz lost his US Open quarterfinal match against Novak Djokovic in four sets on Tuesday night. He put up a valiant effort after falling behind two sets. Fans were really sad and disappointed for him.
Fritz is the top ranked American man, and for better or worse, carries the lofty US expectations of delivering an ATP Grand Slam title. This hasn’t been done since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003 when Fritz was 7 years old.
While there is plenty of buzz about Fritz and Djokovic, the one key item that was never addressed was his Hugo Boss headband. It appeared to be on backwards at the beginning of the match.
I was confused about it initially thinking the camera was a mirror or some other effect that made it look backwards when maybe it was not. As the match wore on, ESPN’s commentators, Chris Fowler and John McEnroe, discussed it.
Fans were still unsure if it was a wardrobe malfunction or conscious decision. Fritz was 0-10 going into the match against Djokovic so maybe he was switching things up. But Hugo Boss probably would not have been amused by this idea.
At one point, McEnroe instructed Brad Gilbert who was ESPN’s courtside reporter to tell Fritz about it so he could change it.
Fritz fixed it in the third set, but his Twitter post after the match implies that he knew nothing about it being backwards, and it was definitely not on purpose.
What Taylor Fritz Said
cuz you’re the boss 🤷♂️ @Taylor_Fritz97 pic.twitter.com/1t8EGhzqM6
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) September 3, 2025
Fritz posted: “Yo why’d nobody tell me that sh%$ was backwards.”
Brad Gilbert chimed in that McEnroe wanted him to say something.
Fritz fan Cory Levy posted a pic of himself and a friend courtside wearing their Hugo Boss headbands backwards in solidarity.
haha we all wore it backwards as well. thought it was intentional! 😂 pic.twitter.com/qfHO2BDnSw
— Cory Levy (@cory) September 3, 2025
Just one of many reasons why tennis fans love Taylor Fritz. He suffered a disappointing loss but still manages to find levity in one aspect of it.
