Stanford University’s Arthur Fery is riding his momentum on the ATP Challenger Tour following a strong season at the collegiate level.
The 20-year-old, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club, earned his maiden Challenger Tour main-draw victory Tuesday when he rallied to beat former World No. 21 and legendary USC alum Steve Johnson 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.
Fery, who grew up attending the Grand Slam event in his backyard, recently finished his junior year as No. 3 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles rankings. To understand how Fery got to this point takes visiting his childhood, where he attended Wimbledon at a young age and holds many fond memories, including earning a doubles win last year at the All England Club alongside countryman Felix Gill.
“Growing up around Wimbledon was awesome. It was obviously a great foundation for my tennis and I got to learn a lot about tennis really quickly,” Fery told ATPTour.com recently at the NCAA championships in Lake Nona, Florida. “I have memories of being in primary school aged 7, 8, 9, 10 and going after school. My mum picking me up from school and just going to watch. It was great.”
Arthur Fery in first-round action at the Rothesay Open. Credit: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images for LTA
Fery described his move to California to attend Stanford as an ‘obvious pick’ once he was accepted because of the great academics at the Pac-12 Conference school. Working towards a degree in Science, Technology, and Society, Fery has reached the quarter-finals in the NCAA singles championships the past two seasons.
During Fery’s sophomore year in 2022, he became Stanford’s first player to reach No. 1 in the ITA Rankings since Bob Bryan in 1998. Following Bob and Mike Bryan’s three years at Stanford, the twin brothers went on to an illustrious professional career, collecting 16 major team titles. They often return to campus to support their alma mater.
“Bob and Mike are really good with staying in contact with the team,” Fery said. “They come to campus occasionally and shared their experience. It's always really valuable to get insights from such good players.”
Fery first began playing tennis at a young age with his mother Olivia, who is a former WTA professional. His father, Loic, is involved in professional sports in a different manner, serving as the president of French Ligue 1 club FC Lorient.
This week will not be the last time tennis fans hear about Fery on the Challenger circuit. Through the ATP & ITA Accelerator Programme, Fery’s hard work at the collegiate level has guaranteed him six Challenger main draw entries, which he can begin using next month at select Challenger events. The Wimbledon native is one of 21 players eligible for accelerator spots via their year-end ITA ranking or by reaching the quarter-finals of the NCAA singles championships.
“That was honestly the best news for college tennis this year, that they managed to do something with the ATP like that,” Fery said. “It provides an incentive for people to stay in college longer and not just kind of jump into the pros too fast. Because they know that if they're successful in college, then they're going to get opportunities regardless in Challengers.
“I'm definitely going to use those to my advantage in the next few months.”
Throughout Fery’s time at Stanford, head coach and former World No. 58 American Paul Goldstein has been able to see what the Briton is like on and off the court.
“Arthur had one of the finest seasons in recent Stanford tennis history,” Goldstein said. “While his results playing No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles throughout the season were truly exceptional, he made an even more lasting impact by consistently representing himself, his teammates and our university with extraordinary class and integrity.
“He will absolutely benefit from the accelerator program. Since the announcement of the program, it has served as a motivator for Arthur and his teammates throughout the course of the season, which is a wonderful thing. I think he's someone that will benefit greatly from it.”
Fery will next aim for his first Top 100 win against World No. 95 Dominik Koepfer in the second round of the Nottingham Challenger on Wednesday.
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