Arthur Fils Claims He’s Fit to Play Wimbledon Despite Returning from Injury after a Month and a Half on the Sidelines

Arthur Fils is back on the court after over a month on the sidelines. The Frenchman suffered a hip injury, which saw him miss the French Open, but he’s back on time ahead of the Wimbledon Championships. However, despite not participating in any warm-up tournament ahead of the grass-court major event, he’s confident that he’s fit for the tournament.

Fils was playing against Andrea Pellegrino in the second round of the Italian Open when he began to experience a physical strain. He was 0-4 down before he decided to retire from the match, and couldn’t return from the hip injury and left knee issue before Roland Garros kicked off last month.

He was expected to return to the court at the Queen’s Club Championships or the Terra Wortmann Open, having not played for over a month. But Fils has opted to take part in exhibition events rather than a competitive tournament to find his rhythm ahead of Wimbledon. On Tuesday (June 23), he took part in a grass exhibition known as The Boodles.

He faced Jakub Mensik in the match in England, just miles away from London. The Frenchman showed no sign of discomfort throughout the exhibition match. He lost the first set but recovered in style to win the second and the super tiebreak, winning the match 5-7, 6-4, (10-8) on the grass court.

After the match, he revealed to L’Equipe that the tie was his first test after being off the courts for a while. He added that he only began training ten days before the match against Mensik, before stressing the need for him to feature in more exhibition matches before Wimbledon, which kicks off on June 29:

I picked up the racket just ten days ago in Monaco, with Lapo (Bacherini, his physical trainer) and Chris (Seiler, his physiotherapist). Before that, I spent two weeks in Munich with a lot of physical work, trying to get back to my best shape. It’s very important to play matches before Wimbledon, especially on grass. It had been two years since I played on this surface, but today I felt very, very good. I played great in a fantastic atmosphere, Jakub and I had a great match…

Fils will now hope to get to his best level before Wimbledon. He had won the Barcelona Open and reached the semi-finals of the Madrid Open before losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets. Fils has been the biggest star in French men’s tennis in recent months and will be eyeing big titles this season.

Arthur Fils’ chances of winning the 2026 Wimbledon Championships

Arthur Fils will enter the Wimbledon Championship as France’s biggest hope of winning the Grand Slam. His astronomical rise to form this season has been mind-blowing, having just returned from more than five months’ injury in February. He has played impressive tennis this year, but he’s not known to play his best on grass.

Also, Fils has failed to beat the likes of Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev this season. For him to win Wimbledon, he has to beat one of these players, apart from Alcaraz, who will not feature at the event due to injury. Fils’ best Grand Slam run came in 2024 at Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round.

Sinner will surely be aiming to avoid the French Open disappointment from repeating at the All England Club. He has not played in any warm-up tournament ahead of Wimbledon and has been closely monitored by his team since losing to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in five sets in the second round of Roland Garros.

The Italian star will be seeking redemption at Wimbledon, a tournament he’s the defending champion of. However, in the last two Grand Slams, which Sinner was meant to defend, he ended up failing to do so, with Alcaraz winning both titles.

Also Read: Popular American Pundit Dismisses Alexander Zverev’s Wimbledon Chances Despite Recent Roland Garros Glory