Taylor Fritz Makes Esports Investment

Taylor Fritz is known for his tennis. The 22-year-old California native serves as one of America’s brightest young tennis stars, reaching as high as No. 25 in the world in 2019. But Fritz has another outlet that keeps him engaged, both competitively and through business: esports.

Fritz, an avid gamer himself, recently became one of the biggest names in tennis to invest in esports with an investment into ReKTGlobal, a global esports business that also owns two esports organizations spanning multiple games.

“I think the dynamic is great with the company not being a specific team organization, actually a parent company that owns and oversees a lot of different things,” Fritz says. “I like that dynamic as far as investment goes, that it is more than just a team.”

Taylor Fritz at the official welcome ceremony prior to the Laver Cup 2019 at Palexpo in Geneva, … [+] Switzerland. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images for Laver Cup) Getty Images for Laver Cup

Managing the business side of his tennis has intrigued Fritz, a husband and father of one young son. Already with millions earned in prize money on the tour and traditional sponsorship deals with the likes of Head, Nike and Rolex, the esports investment was his first outside-the-norm venture.

“I think it is important to make good investments and set yourself up after your career is over,” he says. “When I saw some of the money that athletes had been making through investments and through ventures into other companies, I saw the success athletes were having and I said I should do that too. This is my only real fun investment I have done.”

While he is still making the “safe” investments, working with a financial advisor to ensure his money grows, the esports effort offers a different route. It is also “something fun for me that I believe and can get involved in. I can become more connected to esports through this investment.”

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – SEPTEMBER 22: Taylor Fritz of Team World celebrates in his singles match … [+] against Dominic Thiem of Team Europe during Day Three of the Laver Cup 2019 at Palexpo on September 22, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Laver Cup will see six players from the rest of the World competing against their counterparts from Europe. Team World is captained by John McEnroe and Team Europe is captained by Bjorn Borg. The tournament runs from September 20-22. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup ) Getty Images for Laver Cup

“Taylor Fritz is a rising star, both in tennis and esports,” says Amish Shah, founder and chairman of ReKTGlobal. “In addition to his role as our latest investor, Taylor is an avid gamer who takes his PlayStation on the road so that when he has downtime or is in need of a release, he can jump on the sticks and play Fortnite and Call of Duty. He truly knows his stuff when it comes to the esports industry, teams and players so we’re very excited to welcome him to the ReKTGlobal family.”

Fritz says he’s been pretty into video games for years. “I always like to be competing against other people if it is not on the court in tennis or other sports,” he says. “I want to be competing, so the competitive aspect is always fun. I wouldn’t have the same interest in games if I wasn’t able to compete against other people.”

On the business side, he believes esports “is the future, it is going to blow up and be huge. It has taken me too long to get into this space.”

Fritz joins a few other athletes and celebrities in the investment of ReKTGlobal and says that the company’s position with their mix of owning Rogue, which has teams in a mix of titles, including League of Legends and Fortnite, and owning the London Royal Ravens, part of an ever-growing Call of Duty league, sets them up well.

Taylor Fritz during the Rolex Paris Masters at AccorHotels Arena in October in Paris, France. (Photo … [+] by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) Getty Images

“With the COD league coming up, I think it is going to be absolutely massive and owning the London World Ravens is a massive opportunity for that franchise to grow a lot,” Fritz says. “If you look at the value of franchises of the Overwatch league in the last three years, I think the same thing is going to happen in Call of Duty. Them owning that team got me into it and the timing and everything worked out.”

With Fritz locked into the business side of esports, it all started with his personal enjoyment. He uses video games as a way to relax and enjoy his spare time, mainly playing Call of Duty, Fortnite and FIFA, generally against friends, but sometimes against the online community. “It is something I can do that keeps me relaxed,” he says. “I am not going to be out walking around sightseeing (at tournaments). I really don’t want to walk around and be on my legs all day. It is something I can do if I’m not tired enough to take a nap. If I’m awake and if I’m in that mood to play, it is a good thing to keep me entertained and have fun when I need to relax.”

Fritz takes his love of gaming on the road with him, having perfected his travel routine so he’s set-up for gaming at every stop. “I’ve got a pretty good operation,” he says. “I have it locked up and perfected.” He travels with a lightweight 24-inch screen, which he places face down in his suitcase. He says with it weighing only a couple of pounds, he always has the room and has never had an issue with it. He brings his slim PlayStation in his backpack and throws all the wires and cables he needs in his tennis bag, which he checks and is never heavy enough anyway. He slides his laptop into his backpack too, just in case he wants to play a game on that device.

For the past three years Fritz has traveled both with and without his gaming set-up and never noticed a difference in his play. With tennis his top gaming priority at all times, he says he’s always responsible. “I make sure I am professional and stop playing at a decent time to make sure I get my sleep,” he says. “You have a lot of down time when you are at a tournament and you have to hang out and relax. It is really helpful. I keep it professional and it is fun.” And now it is also part of Fritz’ business plan.

Source link