Arthur Fery is heading to the Australian Open main draw - and he's doing it on his own terms.
The 23-year-old Brit punched his ticket to Melbourne by taking down Croatia’s Dino Prizmic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, in a qualifying match that had just about everything: high stakes, a fired-up crowd, and a clear underdog rising to the occasion. Ranked 185 in the world, Fery was up against a player nearly 60 spots ahead of him in the rankings, but you wouldn’t have known it from the way he controlled the match.
This marks Fery’s first time qualifying for a Grand Slam outside of Wimbledon, where he’s played three times before. And while he doesn’t yet know who he’ll face in the first round, he’s already taken a major step forward in his career - one that’s been building steadily since his college days at Stanford.
“It was getting a bit feisty today in the crowd,” Fery said afterward, acknowledging the intensity of the atmosphere. “If the comments start getting a little bit disrespectful then it's not great, but in general it's good to have people watching.”
That kind of composure isn’t new for Fery. He cut his teeth in the high-energy world of U.S. college tennis, where rowdy crowds are part of the deal.
That experience showed in how he handled the moment - and the noise - with maturity and poise. “I was actually very happy with how I dealt with it today because it could have got to me,” he added.
Fery’s breakthrough moment came last summer at Wimbledon, where he grabbed his first Grand Slam match win by upsetting 20th seed Alexei Popyrin in four sets. That performance turned heads, and now, with a spot in the Australian Open main draw, he’s proving that wasn’t a one-off.
What makes this run even more impressive is the adversity he’s faced. Fery has battled bone bruising in his upper arm - the same type of injury that’s kept fellow Brit Jack Draper out for months. But now healthy, Fery is clearly finding his rhythm at just the right time.
“It was a big milestone for me to play Slams on my own ranking,” he said. “Having qualified brings a lot of joy to me and pride. I know I have it in me to play really good tennis, it's just a matter of staying healthy and delivering on the court.”
That last part - staying healthy and delivering - is the challenge for any rising talent. But Fery’s self-belief is backed by results, and he’s starting to carve out his place among the next wave of British tennis players.
He won’t be the only one flying the flag in Melbourne. Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley are also in the men’s main draw, while Emma Raducanu, Francesca Jones, Sonay Kartal, and Katie Boulter will represent on the women’s side.
George Loffhagen, meanwhile, came close to joining them but fell just short in his final qualifying match, losing in three sets to American Nishesh Basavareddy.
For now, though, the spotlight is on Fery - and he’s earned every bit of it.