Arthur Fery, a 23-year-old British tennis player ranked 114th in the world, advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday with a straight-sets victory over ninth-seeded Flavio Cobolli. Playing on Centre Court in London, Fery won 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 in front of a supportive home crowd and members of the Royal Box, including Queen Camilla.
Fery, who grew up just five minutes from the All England Club, entered the tournament with a wild-card invitation. His progression to the semifinals marks a rare achievement for a wild card; the only other male player to reach this stage at Wimbledon under similar circumstances was Goran Ivanisevic, who went on to win the championship in 2001. The British player’s run has been popularly dubbed a "Ferytale," with the Princess of Wales, Kate, also publicly acknowledging his performance earlier in the tournament.
During the match, Fery earned a standing ovation after securing the first set and a raucous cheer following the tiebreaker in the second set. The crowd’s noise was even audible from Wimbledon’s No. 1 Court, where Alexander Zverev was winning his own quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz. Fery closed out the match emphatically with an ace, then lay on his back to absorb the applause. After the victory, Fery expressed surprise at the intensity of his emotions, describing the experience as unlike any he had before.
Minutes before the match began, Fery and Cobolli were greeted by Queen Camilla in the hallway, with Fery calling the interaction “an honor.” Following his win, Camilla congratulated him, encouraging him to continue his strong play. The British player also noted that he would celebrate his 24th birthday on the day of the men’s final, expressing hope to be competing in the championship match then.
His semifinal opponent will be second-seeded Alexander Zverev, who completed a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Fritz on the same day. Zverev acknowledged Fery’s talent, citing his clean technique and solid groundstrokes after having watched some of his earlier matches. Zverev noted the strong support Fery would receive from the crowd while also expressing enthusiasm for the high-energy atmosphere expected in their forthcoming match on Friday.
In other quarterfinal action, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine reached her first Wimbledon semifinal by defeating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2. Kostyuk, 24, who also made the French Open semifinals earlier this year, celebrated with emotional relief on court after securing the match. She will face 21-year-old Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic on Thursday for a place in Saturday’s final. Noskova reached her first Grand Slam semifinal with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Elise Mertens of Belgium and has been notably successful on grass this season with a 10-1 record.
The other women’s semifinal scheduled for Thursday will feature Coco Gauff against Karolina Muchova, another Czech player. On the men’s side, the remaining semifinal will be between seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and defending champion Jannik Sinner.