Arthur Fils (French pronunciation:[aʁtyʁfis];[1] born 12 June 2004) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 20, achieved on 22 July 2024 and a doubles ranking of No. 195, achieved on 28 October 2024. Fils has won three ATP Tour singles titles, his first was in Lyon in 2023. He is currently the No. 2 French player.[2]
In the junior category, Arthur Fils won the Orange Bowl in 2020, becoming the tenth French player to win this prestigious tournament, equivalent to a world championship.
Ranked No. 308 at the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters on his ATP debut, he became the youngest French qualifier, at 18 years, 4 months and 18 days, to enter the main draw of a Masters 1000 tournament with a win against former top-10 player Fabio Fognini since Gaël Monfils in 2004, the year of his birth.[5][6] He lost in the first round to Fognini, who entered the draw as lucky loser. As a result he moved 50 positions up in the rankings.
2023: First Major win and ATP title, top-40
He won his maiden Challenger title at the 2023 Oeiras Indoors II and moved close to 60 positions up into the top-200 at No. 195 on 16 January 2023.[7][8][9]
Ranked No. 163, he received a wildcard entry into the 2023 Open Sud de France and recorded his first match win on the ATP Tour by defeating former world no. 7 Richard Gasquet in straight sets.[10] Next he defeated fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the quarterfinals becoming the first player born in 2004 or later to reach this ATP level.[11][12] He defeated another countryman, Quentin Halys, becoming the youngest Frenchman since Gasquet to reach an ATP semifinal in Metz in 2004.[13][14] As a result he rose nearly 50 positions to make his debut in the top-150 at world No. 117 on 13 February 2023. In the semifinals, Fils lost to second seed Jannik Sinner who was ranked at No. 15 in the world.[15]
He reached back to back semifinals at the 2023 Open 13 Provence in Marseille defeating Roman Safiullin,[16] second seed Jannik Sinner after getting a walkover, and Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. As a result he moved another 15 positions up to No. 104 on 27 February 2023, just shy of the top-100.[17] He lost to compatriot Benjamin Bonzi.[18]
He qualified into the main draw for his first Masters 1000 on clay, the Italian Open and defeated fellow qualifier Juan Manuel Cerúndolo in the first round before falling to the eventual runner-up, world No. 7 and 7th seed Holger Rune in the second round. He also received a wildcard for the following month’s 2023 French Open.[19]
Following reaching his third semifinal of the season in Lyon after a walkover from top seed Félix Auger-Aliassime due to shoulder injury,[20] Fils made his debut in the top 100 of the rankings on 29 May 2023, the youngest active player to reach this milestone.[21][22] He won his maiden title defeating fourth seed Francisco Cerúndolo becoming the youngest champion in the tournament history.[23] Ranked No. 112, Fils was also the lowest-ranked champion and the third first time winner in the season.[24][25]
In his French Open debut, his first-ever appearance in a Major tournament, he was defeated in the first round by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He reached the top-60 on 26 June 2023.
Fils reached his first ATP500 semifinal at the Hamburg European Open, defeating top seed Casper Ruud in the quarter final, his first win against a Top-5 player, before losing to the other eventual winner Alexander Zverev, in the semi-finals.[27] He made his debut into the Top-50 following the tournament.[28]
Ranked No. 44 at the 2023 Rolex Shanghai Masters, on his debut at this tournament, he defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.[30] He reached the top-40 on 16 October 2023.
He reached his second final at the 2023 European Open with a win over top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets with two tiebreaks, his second top-10 win of the season and his career. He became the youngest finalist in the tournament's history.[31][32] In November, he qualified for the 2023 Next Generation ATP Finals.[33]
2024: Wimbledon 4th round, first 2 ATP500 titles, top-20 debut
At the Monte-Carlo Masters, he made history by becoming the youngest Frenchman since Richard Gasquet in 2005, to win a match when he defeated German Yannick Hanfmann 6-0, 6-2 in the first round.[35]
At the Barcelona Open he reached the quarterfinals defeating another German Daniel Altmaier, and upsetting fourth seed Alex de Minaur in straight sets. As a result, he reached a new career-high of No. 32, entering the top-35 in the rankings.[36]
In May, Fils reached the final as the top seed of the Bordeaux Challenger. He won the title, defeating second seed Pedro Martínez in straight sets.[37]
In July, at Wimbledon, Fils reached the third round of a grand slam tournament for the first time in his career after defeating seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second round via a retirement (on match point).[38][39] Fils went on to defeat Roman Safiullin in the third round to reach the fourth round at a Major for the first time in his career.[40] He would fall to world No. 9 Alex de Minaur in the fourth round in four sets.[41] By virtue of his first fourth round showing at a major, Fils would move up to a new career high ranking of No. 28 on 22 July 2024.[citation needed]
He reached a second ATP500 final at the Japan Open with upset wins over world No. 7 and top seed Taylor Fritz,[49]Matteo Berrettini,[50] defending champion and eighth seed Ben Shelton[51] and sixth seed Holger Rune.[52] He won his third ATP title defeating compatriot Ugo Humbert in three sets, defeating four top-20 opponents en route to becoming the second-youngest champion in Tokyo tournament history.[53] Fils would move up to No. 21 in the 30 September 2024 rankings.[citation needed]
Arthur Fils is a powerful player and uses his serve and forehand to quickly finish points. Indeed, as he said to Ouest-France in 2023: "In the way I play, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's the one I identify with the most".
Performance Timelines
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
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