Wimbledon 2026: Who is British wild card Arthur Fery?

Having come into the tournament as a wild card, Fery has beaten Damir Dzumhur, former Birmingham champion Otto Virtanen, Lexus Eastbourne Open winner Zizou Bergs, former world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov, and ninth seed Flavio Cobolli, to reach the semi-finals at a Grand Slam for the first time.

He's the fifth British man to reach the Wimbledon singles semi-final in the Open Era and only the second wild card, after Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.

Fery eventually lost out to second seed and Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, but finished the fortnight with a new career-high ranking and with the title of British No.1. 

Here’s everything you need to know about Fery’s tennis journey so far.

Background

Born in Sevres, France, Fery has grown up living in London, having moved to Wimbledon when he was a month old, and attended King’s College School.

Tennis is certainly in his blood. Fery’s mother, Olivia, was a former player on the WTA Tour and played at Roland Garros in the early 90s.

His father, Loic Fery, is the current President at FC Lorient, who compete in the French Ligue 1.

Junior career

Fery started playing tennis at the age of five and began rising through the ranks at an early age.

He was coached by Alison Taylor at Westside Tennis Club until he was 12-years-old, before working with Craig Veal at the Sutton Tennis Academy.

During his junior career, he won five singles and five doubles World Tennis Junior titles and reached as high as No.12

Fery was supported on official LTA international competitions to various events such as the U14 Winter Cup, the Paul Hutchins Trophy, the U18 European Championships and junior Grand Slams.

He made the third round of singles at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon junior events, but his standout results came in the doubles.

Fery was a boys’ doubles semi-finalist in Melbourne and at his home Grand Slam, Wimbledon, and also made a quarter-final in Paris.

College tennis

After his junior career, Fery made the decision to continue his tennis development through the US college system and compete in the NCAA.

Fery went to Stanford University, where he majored in Science, Technology and Society, as well as becoming one of the best tennis players in the country.

During his Sophomore year between 2021-2022 he was ranked as high as No.1 nationally in singles – becoming the first Stanford player to do so since doubles legend, Bob Bryan.

He finished his college career as a two-time ITA All-American, a Pac-12 (Pacific Coast Conference) champion and Pac-12 singles player of the year.

Going professional

Fery played main draw doubles at Wimbledon in 2021 and 2022, and had two World Tennis singles titles to his name, but it was the following year that the British player decided to go full-time on the professional tours.

He clinched his first ATP Challenger Tour victory at the Nottingham Open on grass, up against another NCAA legend in Steve Johnson.

His results at college and over the summer led to him receiving his first main draw Wimbledon wild card – losing to third seed Daniil Medvedev in the first round.

In 2024, Fery won his first ATP Challenger doubles title alongside fellow Brit Joshua Paris in Nonthaburi, where he also made the semi-finals of the singles – the best result of the season.

Fery made a series of breakthroughs in the 2025 season. The British star won his first main draw match at Wimbledon, knocking out 20^th seed Alexei Popyrin, in what he called at the time his ‘most proud day’.

A month later, Fery secured his first Challenger singles title – the biggest of his career so far – in Barranquilla.

In September, he made his debut for the Lexus Great Britain Davis Cup team – defeating Poland’s Olaf Pieczkowski to help the Brits secure a place in 2026 qualifying.

He finished the season ranked just inside the world’s top-200, which clinched a spot in Australian Open qualifying. Fery won three rounds to make the main draw of his first Grand Slam outside of Wimbledon, and went on to beat 20^th seed and eventual Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli in the first round.

Fery then qualified for the Miami Open and reached the semi-final of the Zagreb Challenger before the start of the grass court season.

A semi-final run at the Lexus Birmingham Open and a first ATP 500 quarter-final at the HSBC Championships set him up perfectly for his career-best Grand Slam run at Wimbledon this year.

In making the Wimbledon semi-finals, Fery is set to rise inside the world's top-40 and overtake Cam Norrie as the British No.1.

Fery is currently coached by Benoit Foucher and Jeroen Benard, and is supported by the LTA’s Pro Scholarship Programme, presented by Lexus.

Arthur Fery’s career best results

• Clinched his first Grand Slam main draw win at Wimbledon in 2025 over 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, 6-4 6-1 4-6 6-4 - marking the then-biggest win of his career by ranking
• Came through qualifying to reach the main draw at the Australian Open - his first main draw appearance at a major outside of Great Britain
• Equalled that win by defeating 20^th seed Flavio Cobolli in R1 at 2026 Australian Open, 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1
• Won his first ATP Challenger singles title at the Barranquilla Challenger in August 2025, nearly two years after reaching his first Challenger singles final at Mouilleron-le-Captif
• Made his debut for the Lexus GB Davis Cup team in a 2025 World Group I tie against Poland. He defeated Olaf Pieczkowski 6-4, 6-2 to become LTA Colour Holder No.331. 
• Reached his first ATP 500 quarter-final at the HSBC Championships at The Queen's Club
• Went on an historic run at Wimbledon, becoming the fifth British man to reach the semi-finals and only the second wild card to do so

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