Who is Arthur Fery? British qualifier knocks out 20th seed on Australian Open debut

Great Britain’s Arthur Fery claimed the first upset of the Australian Open as the qualifier knocked out 20th seed Flavio Cobolli in the first round.

The 23-year-old Fery, making his overseas grand slam debut, won 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-1 to take out the rising star Cobolli, who took a medical timeout and was visited by the doctor as he struggled with a stomach bug.

Fery won his first-round match at last year’s Wimbledon, also beating the 20th seed in Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, after receiving a wildcard into the tournament.

This time, Fery has now scored four victories so far in Melbourne, having come through from the first round of qualifying, and will now take on Argentina’s Tomas Martín Etcheverry in the second round.

“It seems I like drawing 20th seeds at grand slams,” Fery laughed afterwards during his on-court interview. “I felt great. I felt very comfortable on that court. Obviously playing three matches beforehand in quallies really helped.”

Ranked 186th in the world, Fery was born in France and his mother, Olivia Fery, was a professional tennis player. His father, Loic Fery, is a businessman and president of French top-flight football club FC Lorient.

“It definitely really helped when I was younger in my development to have two parents who know how pro-sport works and the pressures of it,” said Fery, who is also fluent in French due to his parents.

“Keeping a good balance between trying to develop tennis but also having a life and having an education and keeping your kid balanced when he is young. It’s very important. I'm very lucky for that.”

He went to school at King College in Wimbledon before enrolling at Stanford University in the United States on a tennis scholarship, a route also taken by the British No 2 Cameron Norrie and No 3 Jacob Fearnley (both Texas Christian University) in recent years.

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Fery played for three years at Stanford, between 2020 and 2023, while also studying for a degree in science and technology, and became the No 1 ranked singles player in the college system during his second year.

“It was a good experience. It's very different to going pro straightaway,” Fery said. “I think I wasn't quite ready for the pro tour at 18 when I came out of juniors.

“I wasn't ready to travel 35, 40 weeks a year. So college was a great experience. You obviously get a world-class education at Stanford. At the same time you can play loads of matches, develop as a player.

“You are left to your own a little bit more than if you have a travelling coach all the time with you. It's character-building for sure. I was lucky, very lucky, to be around great people and great coaches.

“It's very individual. Some guys are ready to go all guns blazing 35 weeks a year travelling with a coach, or without. That's their identity. They are a tennis player from 18.

“I was still in normal school until 16. I did A-levels, home school at home playing juniors. Tennis wasn't my life at 18. Now I feel like it is. It's my job.”

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Fery made two appearances in the main draw at Wimbledon, his home tournament, before earning his first win over Popyrin at last year’s Championships. He lost to Luciano Darderi in the second round.

But Fery also took a step forwards in his career in September when he replaced the British No 1 Jack Draper and the injured Fearnley in Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Poland, beating Olaf Pieczkowski 6-4 6-2 in Gdynia.

Along with his first title on the Challenger circuit, Fery entered the 2026 season with a career-high ranking of 185 in the world - although he is already set to gain more than 50 places after beating Cobolli in the first round of the Australian Open.

The French-born Fery also said it was “satisfying” to produce a big result at the grand slams away from Wimbledon, where British players can receive wildcards and have the backing of the home crowds.

“Obviously when you see the draw, you play a seed, you know you need your best tennis to get through. Maybe it was a good thing for me as well to know that I had to really play well and bring my best tennis today to have a chance. I thought I did that. I felt really at that level.

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“I was already happy to qualify here for my first time in the quallies of a slam on my own. Now coming through quallies and winning a round, I'm proud of it. I was hoping that at some point I was going to be able to play other slams without needing wildcards. So that's a good step forward for my career for sure.”

After qualifying for the main draw, Fery’s mum flew out to Australia just in time for his match against Cobolli.

“When I won that last round, she asked me if she could come,” Fery said. “It's obviously it's a long way, but at least I made it worth it. She can see at least two matches - hopefully more.”

Argentina’s Etcheverry, who has a career-high ranking of 27 and beat Andy Murray on his final-ever match at the Australian Open.

Etcheverry battled past Miomir Kecmanovic in five sets and Fery said: “He's been on tour for a while, so I know him. I've seen some matches, but not too much. I guess we'll speak about it with my coach and come with a good game plan.”