Frenchman speaks to ATPTour.com on his season and chase for Turin qualification

When Arthur Fils burst onto the scene at the ATP 250 event in Lyon in 2023, it quickly became clear that the Frenchman was destined for the big stage.

Aged just 18, the dynamic youngster powered to the title on home soil to become the youngest tour-level champion of the season. It was the beginning of a rapid rise, fuelled by explosive athleticism, fearless shot-making and an unmistakable flair for the game. Under the guidance of coaches Ivan Cinkus and Goran Ivanisevic, Fils has continued to develop those weapons into a game capable of challenging the best in the world.

Now, with just one week of the 2026 regular season remaining, the 22-year-old is on the verge of another major milestone: a potential debut at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. For Fils, it would be more than a reward for a standout season. It would mean realising a long-held ambition.

“It would be insane to play in Turin. I like to play on the big stage. That is why I play tennis. I want to play on the biggest court with the biggest crowd, so I like it. It is my goal and the goal of the whole team to play in Turin,” Fils told ATPTour.com. “We all feel the same goal to play in the big stages and you get that feeling playing in those moments and it is nice, so I hope it happens.”

To understand just how much that opportunity would mean, it is worth looking back at the journey that brought him here.

After his breakthrough in 2023, which culminated in a debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals, Fils took another significant step forward in 2024. His combination of power, athleticism and on-court charisma made him one of the Tour’s most compelling young talents, and he backed up the promise with title success in Hamburg and Tokyo, finishing the season inside the Top 20.

Then came a frustrating interruption to his momentum.

A back injury sidelined Fils for much of the next year, keeping him off the Tour from June 2025 until February 2026, apart from an appearance at the Masters 1000 event in Toronto. For a player whose game is built on explosive movement and physical intensity, the road back was a challenge both on and off the court.

“It was very mental, to be honest,” Fils said earlier this year. “It was more being on the sidelines than the pain itself. At one point I stopped watching tennis completely because I just wanted to be there. When you can’t be there and you’re watching the matches, it’s more painful. You feel like you’re missing something every week. I found that a real challenge, and a little lonely at times.”

When Fils finally returned, however, he wasted little time reminding everyone what they had been missing. In just his third tournament back, he reached the final in Doha and then advanced to the semi-finals in Miami. Four weeks later, Fils was lifting the trophy on the clay of Barcelona.

There was still more to come. Another setback forced him to miss Roland Garros, but Fils responded in emphatic fashion on the hard courts of Cincinnati. There, he captured his first Masters 1000 title, delivering the biggest triumph of his career so far and giving his bid for Turin a major boost.

“It was a great week for me,” Fils said. “It was the first Masters 1000 that I won and was very nice for me. I arrived there with good momentum from Montreal but I didn’t expect to play as well as I did. It was chilled with my team, just a small team, and we had some and managed to win the title.

“It meant a lot after everything with the setbacks. Winning a title like this feels extra good and you feel good after winning a big title. But after you also feel that because you have done it once, you want to do it more.”

That appetite for more could take Fils to the biggest stage of his career yet. Having lit up courts around the world, the Frenchman now has the chance to bring the Fils show to the Inalpi Arena for the first time.

He enters the closing stretch of the season seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, putting him in a strong position to qualify for the prestigious eight-player event. After a year defined by setbacks, comebacks and a breakthrough title, a place among the season’s elite would be a fitting reward. And for a player who thrives on testing himself against the best, the prospect of Turin is especially appealing.

“It is super nice as it is the biggest matches and the biggest challenges you could have,” Fils said. “I think it is so cool to play against those guys, test yourself and play against great friends to end the season.”

Fils has already collected 12 Top-10 victories in his career, showing he has the firepower to trouble the Tour’s leading players. The prospect of competing in front of a packed Italian crowd only adds to the appeal. The atmosphere at the Nitto ATP Finals is renowned for its intensity, and Fils is eager to experience it for himself.

“The Italian crowds are always very intense and you know it is pretty cool to play in Italy,” Fils said. “For now I am not looking too far ahead as there are points to be played for, but it would be a really nice experience to play Turin. It is going to be intense, especially with those matchups.”

For now, the focus remains on the points still available and the work required to secure his place. Fils knows the job is not finished yet. But after battling through injury, rebuilding his momentum and claiming the biggest title of his career, he has given himself a genuine shot at turning a long-term dream into reality.