Arthur Fery, 23, may have been born in France but he grew up just minutes away from the All England Club - and the player ranked 114th before the tournament is now ripping up the Wimbledon rule book14:54, 07 Jul 2026He was born in the Paris suburb of Sevres, but when Arthur Fery steps out at Wimbledon on Wednesday he will do so as a genuine hometown hero.‌Fery moved to SW19 when he was aged two and grew up just minutes away from the All England Club, where his younger brother is working at this year's tournament and his mum Olivia, once a tennis pro herself, is understood to be a member.‌As a child, he regularly watched the tournament in person, and the crowds, including some who know him personally, very much consider the 23-year-old one of their own.‌Arthur's French-born father Loic, 53, has been spotted cheering on his son wildly. Speaking about his success at this year's tournament, he said: "We're all very, very proud of him. He's a Wimbledon boy. England means a lot and Great Britain means a lot because he grew up here."And he's always, despite having two French parents, he's always been very, very attached to playing for a team from GB. He played Davis Cup last year. It was one of the biggest honours he could have and he was so proud of it and he won."‌Fery, 23, is 5ft 9in tall, relatively small in the world of hulking male tennis stars, but he is rapidly becoming one of the biggest names at this year's championships.He wrote his name into Wimbledon folklore by becoming the first British wildcard entry ever to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament when he beat Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov in a five-set thriller, in front of his childhood hero Roger Federer, on Monday night. And he will now attempt to reach the semi-finals when he takes on world number ten Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday .Speaking about just how at home his son is at the famous tournament, Loic added: "Some of his local friends were ball boys. Not now because they're younger, but in his first Wimbledon, he had ball boys who were his friends.‌"His brother is actually a runner. They bring the rackets. He's working here for an internship. And yeah, so it's a community he belongs to."Loic, who is the CEO of Chenavari Investment Managers, which reportedly manages assets worth nearly £4.5billion, sent Arthur to be educated at Wimbledon's King's College School, where fees cost up to £35,000 a year.‌Fellow former pupils include Mumford & Sons lead singer Marcus Mumford, Chronicles of Narnia actor Ben Barnes and Ross Hutchins, who was himself a professional tennis player before becoming CEO of the International Tennis Federation.However, despite his privileged upbringing, which included holidays at at the family’s second home near La Rochelle or with relatives in Nice, it is clear Arthur has worked incredibly hard for his success in the ultra-competitive sport.And his father says he is due all the credit for his own success, which has included him overcoming injuries, including bone bruising in his arm that previously left him experiencing "doubts and dark moments".‌Loic, who was owner and president of French football club FC Lorient until earlier this year, said: "He's doing it step-by-step. He's always learned and is learning from the experience."Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're more difficult. He's learning from it. He's very dedicated to his tennis. We never pushed him. It's his thing."‌After finishing school in Wimbledon, Fery studied at Stanford University in the US, on a tennis scholarship for a Science, Technology and Society degree programme.His dad proudly says he became number one America's college circuit, the ITA. He has now been a full-time pro for around 18 months and is clearly going from strength-to-strength.Loic said: "I think we need to thank the LTA as well because the LTA is extremely helpful in helping him develop and making him very accountable. They put him in charge of his project. So, you know, running the team, running the coach, running all his team."‌During his first round match, Fery was watched on Court 18 by the Princess of Wales, who is patron of the All England Club, where fans have invented a new amusing ferry inspired foghorn chant for Britain's new Centre Court star, which starts with the line: 'Here Comes The Fery!".The Brit, who his dad says is "a normal 23-year-old", has described the song as "original", but it seems clear his musical interests are slightly edgier. He has been preparing for matches at this year's tournament by listening to songs by his favourite musicians, including rappers.Fery said: "I like Rufus Du Sol, kind of house music, I listen to house music a lot. Gets me in the zone. I like British rappers as well - Dave, Central Cee, all the guys who are at the top of the music industry right now."‌Fery is supported at his matches by his loved ones, as well as his Dutch-born coach Jeroen Benard. He said: "It's been about a year now that I'm working with Jeroen."We had a great fit straightaway. Great fit on and off the court. So it kind of was a good transition and good fit. So yeah, it's working well. Obviously, yeah, these two weeks have been incredible for us. Yeah, it's been awesome to have him behind me."Speaking about his last 16 win over Dimitrov, Fery admitted: "It was awesome. I had so many friends, so much family there, as well as all my team and people that I really trust in and enjoy spending time with. These matches are such roller coasters. I'm always looking up. They're communicating to me. We're all in the match together.‌"When I get over the line, and it's the first time I'm on Centre Court, first time I'm trying to qualify for a quarter-final in a slam, yeah, it's great to share those moments with them."Asked about his upcoming quarter-final, Fery, who previously beat Cobolli, 24, in a three-set match in Australia, added: "It's going to be a good match.‌"I'm expecting it to be very, very difficult and different to Australia. Completely different conditions. I'm sure he's going to be at 100% of his capacities here, which maybe he wasn't quite 100% in Australia. I played really well in Australia. I felt like I dominated the match. So we'll use that experience for Wednesday."Speaking about Fery's achievement so far in this tournament, former British tennis star Greg Rusedski, 52, who was himself born abroad in Canada, said: "We're doing well in the football and we're doing well in the tennis now."We all want to see England in the semis in the World Cup and we want to see Fery in the semis. I think we'll get both our wishes. His swagger, the way he walks around the court, he shows that he believes."‌Asked what advice he would give Fery in order to keep his fairytale run going, Rusedski said: "Keep the body language. Keep the swagger. Keep doing what you're doing. Don't change a thing. He's doing everything right. The hard part for any tennis player is between the ears."And he has that sort of swagger and belief. And that gets you a long way in this sport. Please don't wake up. Just continue doing what you're doing."Rusedski added: "He's a great guy. I've spent a lot of practice sessions with him, with Ben Jones, one of the British boys I've been working with.Article continues below"He's a lovely person. He's very smart. He understands the game and he understands what he needs to do. The story's great. The guy was barely serving between 40 and 80 balls a year ago because of his elbow problem. And now he's all of a sudden in the quarters of Wimbledon."