Who is Arthur Fery? The British sensation who took Wimbledon by storm

Arthur Fery has taken the tennis world by storm following a hugely impressive and unlikely Wimbledon campaign. His dream campaign in his home event has come to an end to the hands of Alexander Zverev in a 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4 defeat, but it is a tournament to be proud of that will live on in the minds of British tennis fans for some time.

He came into this Wimbledon tournament as the world number 114, among the British wildcards hoping to make an impact. With a number of the home favourites tripping up, he has capitalised and got a huge number of fans on his side as he took down some of the top players in the world enroute to his point. From representing France as a youth to traversing to the USA to reaching a Grand Slam semi-final, this is how Arthur Fery has risen into the mainstream of tennis.

Born on 12 July 2002 in Paris to French parents, his mother was a former professional tennis player, getting him into the sport from a young age. His father is a businessman and president of Ligue 1 football club Lorient.

They made the move to Wimbledon, of all places, when Fery was very young. He attended the local Donhead Prep school and the King's College School, a very famous place of education. Fery had chosen to represent France at a very young age, all the way up to Under 12 level before deciding to make the switch to Great Britain.

“In regards to the French, honestly, less and less these days,” Fery said. “I've now lived here a long time. Maybe 10 years ago, you asked me that question, I probably would say maybe felt more French than English. Now it's not the case at all. I feel very British. I live here. All my best friends live here. I went to school here. I train here. Obviously my parents are still French, so we speak French with my family and cousins who still live in France. No, my roots are very much tied to London now.”

Like many tennis players, Fery made the switch to the United States of America to develop his tennis career even further while studying Science, Technology and Society degree program on a tennis scholarship program at Stanford University in California. He was there for three years. “I think it helped me mature, gave me a bit of time without too much pressure,” he commented.

Fery took his first steps into professional tennis through the ITF Circuit. He reached a high of world number 12 in this system in March 2020. His most notable results came away from singles reaching junior Grand Slam semi-finals at the 2019 Wimbledon and 2020 Australian Open.

He first had the chance to qualify for Wimbledon in 2021, winning his first two matches before taking a two set lead against Tallon Griekspoor. However, the Dutchman would come back and cruelly prevent him of a spot in his first ever Grand Slam.

He started winning titles on the ITF Tour in 2022, picking up silverware in Nottingham and Sheffield before losing a final later in the year in Sunderland. He reached another four finals in 2023, winning two of them including one in the USA.

2023 was also significant with him having debuted at Wimbledon. It was as home of a tournament for Fery as it could get. He had a daunting task against the third seed Daniil Medvedev, losing in straight sets. This time three years from then, he will be facing off against the world number three in the semi-finals of the Grand Slam.

Dutchman Jeroen Benard became his coach last year following him withdrawing from a number of tournaments. Injuries were hampering his progress, but he liked what he saw. "My first impression was like, ‘Oh, the kid can play?’”

He was proved right when the Brit won his first ever Grand Slam match, entered as a wildcard in 2025 Wimbledon where he defeated the 20th seed Alexei Popyrin in four sets before losing to Luciano Darderi. His progress was again hampered by inury as they found out that it was affected by his serving action. “Clearly that's working out,” Benard said. “Because he doesn't have any pain anymore.”

Fery made a huge impression at the 2026 Australian Open. He was drawn against Flavio Cobolli following successfully qualifying for the event, and defeated him in straight sets. He would not be able to progress further following a defeat against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

He failed to qualify for the French Open as he mostly played his stuff on the Challenge Tour, making his Masters 1000 debut in the Miami Open. When the grass swing came around, he was ready to capitalise. He featured at both Queen's Club Championships and the Eastbourne Open. All good preparation for what would be an unbelievable Wimbledon campaign.

He came back from a set down against Damir Dzumhur in a very convincing win. He was one of just two Brits to make it into the second round, along with Katie Swan on the women's side. All the attention was on him, and he did not disappoint.

Otto Virtanen was taken down in another four-set battle before a tight tussle against the Eastbourne champion Zizou Bergs. Nosebleeds did not prevent him from taking home glory, coming through in five sets while keeping his cool on No.18 Court for a hugely impressive performance. "It is a problem I am going to address. It has happened before, but it's not that common," he commented on the nosebleeds. "It happened at times today when I didn't want to stop, when momentum was with me. I know it is annoying for the opponent. It gives me some extra time to rest sometimes, I guess."

A five-set thriller would follow, this time against former world number three Grigor Dimitrov. It went to a super tiebreak, in which Fery just won it 10-7 in an unbelievably dramatic ending. He would return on Centre Court against none other than Cobolli in a rematch from their clash Down Under. He excelled on court, bageling the Italian in the third set to cap off another magical tale in this amazing story for the 23-year-old. “It seems to get better and better every match. No, I just can't believe it. It's incredible playing on Centre Court for the second time, second win, I can't believe it," he said after the match.

This set up a tie against Zverev in the semi-final, with one of Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic possibly standing in his way in the final. He turns 24-years-old on Sunday, but he will be celebrating it away from the court after that defeat to the world number three in straight sets. He gave it a good go, earning even more fans along the way as the positives from that run set to be outlined.

Not many people would have touted Fery to be the British number one. However, that is the case. He has risen a whopping 78 places to world number 36, ahead of the likes of Cameron Norrie and further clear of former world number four Jack Draper.

This sets him up beautifully for the rest of the season and beyond. On the cusp of being seeded for Grand Slam events, he will be able to feature and compete in many of the top events ranging from Grand Slams to Masters 1000 and other tournaments put on throughout the year without relying on wildcards or qualifying.

Following Wimbledon, it is all about backing this form up, continuing to add points on the board and keep him in this part of the ATP Rankings. The big question is whether he can kick on and challenge the elite. This is just the start of what could be a flourishing tennis career for Fery.