Arthur Fils calls ATP Finals qualification a childhood dream come true

Arthur Fils after booking his ATP Finals spot: "I hadn't played at home for a year and a half."

He said it after beating Czech player Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6(4) at the Paris Masters.

It was his first match on French soil since the 2025 French Open, where he suffered a stress fracture in his back.

That injury kept him off the tour for nine months.

He played only two matches between June 2025 and February 2026.

Fils missed the 2026 Australian Open and Roland Garros because of the recovery.

When he finally returned in February, he won 41 of his next 56 matches.

He captured two ATP titles this season, including his first Masters 1000 trophy at the Cincinnati Open.

He reached the semifinals of the Miami Open and the Madrid Open.

He broke into the top 10 for the first time in his career.

And on November 4, 2026, he officially qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Fils became the first French player to qualify since Gael Monfils in 2016.

His qualification was sealed when fellow Frenchman Quentin Halys defeated Frances Tiafoe.

Fils followed that match closely from the locker room.

"It's a day I won't forget," Fils told TennisActu.

"I followed Quentin's match closely, I have to thank him for his win, which allowed me to relax a bit for tonight."

After Halys won, Fils knew he had earned enough points.

He then went on court and beat Machac in front of a home crowd that gave him chills.

"I took off my headphones, which I never do, just so I could feel that atmosphere," he said.

"I walked out there and I had chills."

His most recent tournament in France before this week had been the 2025 French Open.

That tournament ended with a stress fracture in his lower back.

"It had been a year and a half since I last played at home, and I missed it," he admitted.

Fils is now embracing every moment in Paris.

"It's the first time this year that I've walked onto court without headphones, just to take in the atmosphere," he said.

"I feel incredible, honestly. What I'm experiencing right now is pure happiness."

The ATP Finals bring together the eight leading singles players of the season.

Fils will compete against the best names in men's tennis for the first time.

"It's a childhood dream," he said.

"I'm very happy to take part this year and I hope I can play it more often, almost every year. I just want to enjoy it."

His next match at the Paris Masters is against American Taylor Fritz.

Fils faced Fritz earlier this season in Basel, where he retired due to discomfort in his back and leg.

Those problems are not currently affecting him in Paris.

Two years ago in Tokyo, Fils won a three-set battle against Fritz.

"Not easy, on indoor hard," Fils admitted.

"I watched him today, he played very well. It will be a huge test."

Fritz is still fighting for his own place at the ATP Finals.

Despite the celebration, Fils joins an unusual statistical club.

He has won only one Grand Slam match in 2026.

He lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Matteo Berrettini.

He lost in the first round of the US Open to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

That makes him just the second player in history to qualify for the ATP Finals in a year where he won fewer than two Grand Slam matches.

The other is Brad Gilbert, who did not win a single Grand Slam match in 1989.

Gilbert also missed the Australian Open and Roland Garros that year.

He lost in the first round of Wimbledon and the US Open.

Like Fils, Gilbert won the Cincinnati Open that season.