Arthur Fils was due for a meteoric rise after he won the Orange Bowl as a 16-year-old in 2020. And he mostly followed the script, rising to a high of no. 14 in the world as he impressed us all with his jump-off-the-couch-in-disbelief virtuosity.
But meteors don’t rise; they fall, which is maybe the point of the metaphor in the first place. Fils’s happened in May, when he sustained a stress fracture in his back (during a five-set WIN at the 2025 French Open). Spines being what they are, the tennis world prepared for a long stretch without him. But natural human growth hormone being what it is, the hearty youth returned to the tour in February, making the final in Doha before losing to Alcaraz.
We’re happy to have him back. His brand of tennis is the kind that sells tickets; the kind that takes advantage of muscularity, agility, and facility. The Carlos Alcaraz kind, but with a French accent.