by Wendy Laird
Arthur Fils, who beat Tommy Paul on Wednesday at the Miami Open in an instant classic, is roaring to life in a welcome return to the tour. The charisma bomb is into his second deep run of the year and looking better than before he left.
“Game Ain’t Based On Sympathy.” The Frenchman at Indian Wells 2024. Photo by Aaron Laserna
Arthur Fils was due for a meteoric rise after he won the Orange Bowl as a 16-year-old in 2020. And he mostly followed the script, rising to a high of No. 14 in the world as he impressed us all with his jump-off-the-couch-in-disbelief virtuosity. But meteors don’t rise; they fall, which is maybe the point of the metaphor in the first place.
Fils’s happened in May, when he sustained a stress fracture in his back (during a five-set WIN at the 2025 French Open). Spines being what they are, the tennis world prepared for a long stretch without him. But natural human growth hormone being what it is, the hearty youth returned to the tour in February, making the final in Doha before losing to Alcaraz. We’re happy to have him back.
His brand of tennis is the kind that sells tickets; the kind that takes advantage of muscularity, agility, and facility. The Carlos Alcaraz kind, but with a French accent. Like Alcaraz, Fils comes across as a really nice guy. His current credo, GABOS (Game Ain’t Based On Sympathy) might be his way of quelling feelings of camaraderie when he’s locked in competition with a friend.
After his quarterfinal match, he told the “Even if TP [Tommy Paul] is my friend, when we are stepping on the court it’s either him or me. Well, I prefer when it’s me.” We do, too. And we’d like to suggest a better metaphor for Fils’s ascent: How about a firework? Or a rocket? Or one of those fast-growing cultivars of bamboo? Yes; bamboo, because we’d like to see Fils dig in, flourish, and be very difficult to beat.
Ins, Outs, Lets:
Miami Scene Report: We’re just back from the second half of the Sunshine Double, where we hosted a Racquet House with our friends at Wilson (Anna Kalinskaya brought her dog), then launched Issue No. 28 on the gorgeous rooftop of Miami Beach’s Shelborne Hotel along with our friends Bacardi and Miami Racket Club. That tournament venue—metal bleachers in a hot parking lot—couldn’t be worse, but Miami as a tennis town is undefeated. Thanks for coming out and watch this space for invites!
Lil Yachty: Not Miami (but definitely Miami-coded), Carlos has a new boat, why not? But WHY is he is dressed like he’s about to start singing ABBA?
Octopus Selfies: Andrea Petkovic’s essential Finite Jest substack has a fantastic explanation of why winning BOTH legs of the sunshine double is so hard—she gets technical about ball speed, air density and other matters of physics only she could explain. She also gets ornery about Miami influencers photographing their dinners.
Courts, Courts, Courts: We moonlighted over at another essential Substack, Rich People Shit, by contributor Carson Griffith, to list the 10 most BEAUTIFUL courts. This list is NEXT LEVEL, it’s better than any other list. It’s the only list, ok???
KISS: Team Danielle Collins or Team Corentin Moutet? We’re team MOST CHAOTIC COUPLE IN TENNIS HISTORY.
Grip it and rip it: Friend of the mag Bryson Malone has just launched Graphite, an “archive of over 3000 pieces of vintage tennis clothing that celebrates the full breadth of Tennis' contribution to fashion from tailoring, to prep, to the graphic design language of small-town recreational tournaments.” There’s rare stuff, EXTREMELY rare stuff and all sorts of ephemera you’ve never seen before.
Le Retour du Coq: LONGTIME Racquet fave brand Le Coq Sportif seems to be back from the dead after declaring bankruptcy a few years ago, dropping some new looks on IG, reports Hard Court. Tennis is better with more legacy brands!
Rec Specs: Zheng Qinwen in Gentle Monster. We approve.