LONDON — He grew up five minutes from the place where he won the most important match of his life: Arthur Fery is the great surprise of Wimbledon 2026 and the only bright spot for a British tennis scene that has endured too much heartbreak in London.
“Incredible what I’ve just lived. First time on this court, and five sets against an absolute legend of the game. I can’t believe it,” the 23-year-old said on Centre Court, minutes after ending Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov’s hopes.
Fery came back from two sets to one down in a match decided by a super-tiebreak: 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4 and 7-6 (10-8). He came from behind in every match on his run to the quarterfinals at the All England Club.
In the first three rounds, against Damir Dzumhur, Otto Virtanen and Zizou Bergs, he lost the first set every time. “That’s my story in the tournament: I was really close to losing, but I always kept fighting, kept the good attitude. That paid off.”
Expectations were low for the world number 114, who received a wild card from the organisation: “A week ago I would have been happy to win a couple of matches here… but now I’m in the quarters. It’s unbelievable.”
Another detail that made Fery happy was having Roger Federer watching from the Royal Box: “I had the greatest tennis player of all time watching me in front row against Grigor Dimitrov. It felt very special.”
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Born to French parents on the outskirts of Paris, in Sèvres, the whole family soon moved to London. He grew up in the southwest of the city and went to school in Wimbledon. He delivers part of his press conferences in his native language.
After his junior tennis career, he joined the ranks at Stanford University, where he continued to develop his game before turning professional. “I came out with a lot of hunger, I was ready to attack on the pro circuit,” he told the media.
Fery is the exception in the disaster that has been British tennis at Wimbledon 2026.
First came the withdrawals of Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper. On day one of competition, all ten British players who competed lost. They won just five sets between them. The biggest disappointment was men’s number one Cameron Norrie. Katie Boulter also fell early.
Fery wants to keep making history. He faces Italian Flavio Cobolli this Wednesday for a place in the semifinals.
