arthur fils

Biography

Overview
An upcoming player with his first ATP singles title as a pro secured at Lyon in May, Arthur Fils joins Team Europe as an alternate at the sixth edition of the Laver Cup in Vancouver. He won the Lyon crown as a wildcard, aged 18 years and 11 months, becoming the youngest Frenchman to win an ATP Tour title since Gael Monfils’ Sopot victory in 2005. Fils broke into the Top 50 at the end of July and defeated No.4-ranked Casper Ruud at Hamburg in a run to the semifinals at Hamburg.

Off Court
With a dream of winning a Grand Slam title and achieving the world No.1 ranking, Fils started playing tennis at the age of five and was coached by his father until 12, after which the French Federation took over. He idolized Roger Federer growing up, and since the Swiss’ retirement in 2022, Fils has named Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as his favorite active players, but he also takes inspiration from Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton.

Career
Fils has built a ranking inside the top 50 in 2023 with solid performances at all levels of the Pro Tour starting with a title at the Oeiras 2 Portugal Challenger and a runner-up finish at the Quimper Challenger in France at the end of January. From there, he launched into the semifinals of the ATP 250 at Montpellier and Marseille, and the quarterfinals at Aix-en-Provence. He qualified for the Rome Masters 1000, lasting two rounds, and collected his first ATP Tour singles title at Lyon, defeating world No.28 Francisco Cerundolo in the final. His next breakthrough was at the ATP 500 at Hamburg, where he stunned No.4 Ruud in the quarterfinals.

2023 Highlights
Winner: Lyon, Portugal Challenger
Semifinals: Hamburg, Marseille, Montpellier
Quarterfinals: Aix-en-Provence
R2: Rome (as a qualifier)