“It is a very good pressure”

Arthur Fils is not just any tennis talent.

One of the showmen of the sport has the ability to captivate crowds with his free-flowing play and dynamite strikes, and at just 20-years-old, the sky is the limit for the French player.

With that comes the weight of expectation, as France anxiously awaits a first Grand Slam men’s singles champion of the Open Era. Could it be Fils?

That is the pressure that rests on the shoulders of the young man from Courcouronnes, reaching a career-high ranking of world number 19 at the start of 2025. This is, however, a challenge that he is more than up for.

“There is no stress, there is nothing better than that,” Fils tells Olympics.com in French, “It’s a good problem to have as we say. When you enter the court in Bercy or in Roland-Garros and you hear your name coming from the stands, those are good emotions. In the end, it's a very good pressure, if we can call that pressure.”

Off the court, Fils is like any 20-year-old. He enjoys playing football, one of his childhood activities alongside basketball, and will wind down with regular calls to family and friends while travelling across the world on tour.

But when it comes to competition, Fils is a phenom in process.

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