World No.9 Arthur Fils took the long road to the main draw in Tokyo, as a qualifier.
Chris OddoSeptember 30, 20262 minute read
Arthur Fils made his Top 10 debut on Monday, becoming the first Frenchman to hold a Top 10 ranking since Gael Monfils in 2020.
Fils ended a 2,177-day drought for French men in the ATP Top 10, becoming the first Frenchman to crack the elite group since Gael Monfils dropped out in October of 2020.
How did the World No. 9 celebrate this accomplishment? By playing qualifying in Tokyo.
Why? Because he missed the sign-up deadline, which came a month ago, when he was busy at the US Open. By the time Fils decided that he would like to play the event he first won in 2024, after his loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Open, it was already too late.
According to Tennis WorldFR.com, Fils became the highest-ranked player to compete in qualifying at an ATP Tour event since the Tour was established in 1990.
“I think it was one of my toughest challenges this year, to be honest,” Fils said. “You come as a new Top-10 player and come to play qualies at a 500, at a tournament that I won. So I was very tight,” Fils told the ATP.
After rallying from a set down to defeat American Martin Damm in his first qualifying match, Fils topped Kamil Majchrzak to make the main draw. He defeated compatriot Luca Van Assche, 6-3, 6-2, on Monday, improving to 6-0 lifetime at the event.
Fils, 22, is the third-youngest Frenchman to ever reach the Top 10 – only Richard Gasquet and Yannick Noah have done it at a younger age – and will face either Frances Tiafoe or Kei Nishikori in the second round.
Fils, who defeated Ugo Humbert in the 2024 Tokyo final to cap a run that featured wins over Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune, is up to 33-11 on the season.
He returned from a stress fracture in his back in February and hit the ground running, reaching the Doha final in his third event, then notching a quarterfinal at Indian Wells and a semifinal at Miami. He won the Barcelona title and reached the semis in Madrid. This summer, Fils won his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, where he became the first Frenchman to win a 1000-level title since 2024.
He has struggled at the majors, though, missing Roland Garros with an injury and losing in the second round at Wimbledon and the first round at the US Open.
Fils is currently seventh in the Race to Turin standings.
