Arthur Fils defeated Andrey Rublev in the final to win the 2026 Barcelona Open.
The win saw Fils jump up to sixth in the ‘Live ATP Race to Turin’ as he continues to impress on his comeback from injury.
Is Arthur Fils the next best player after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
Playing some of the best tennis of his career, what is stopping Fils from challenging for Grand Slam titles?
Former world number one Andy Roddick has the answer.
Andy Roddick says Arthur Fils’ biggest problem is Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
During the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘, Roddick shared his thoughts on the French number one.
“I don’t know that you can write up a better start to the season, post-injury, than Arthur Fils has,” said Roddick.
Arthur Fils in 2026
| Tournament | Performance | Match wins |
| Open Occitanie | Quarter-final | 2 (Valentin Royer, Ugo Blanchet) |
| Rotterdam Open | First round | – |
| Qatar Open | Final | 4 (Kamil Majchrzak, Quentin Halys, Jiri Lehecka, Jakub Mensik) |
| Indian Wells | Quarter-final | 3 (Dino Prizmic, Marton Fucsovics, Felix Auger-Aliassime) |
| Miami Open | Semi-final | 4 (Darwin Blanch, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Valentin Vacherot, Tommy Paul) |
| Barcelona Open | Champion | 5 (Terence Atmane, Brandon Nakashima, Lorenzo Musetti, Rafael Jodar, Andrey Rublev) |
“Listen, he’s had some lop-sided score lines, first against Carlos [Alcaraz], then against [Jiri] Lehecka.
- 2026 Qatar Open F – Carlos Alcaraz defeated Arthur Fils, 6-2, 6-1
- 2026 Miami Open SF – Jiri Lehecka defeated Arthur Fils, 6-2, 6-2
“But he’s winning matches every single week.
“If you can’t rush him all the time, you’re going to have a problem.
“When he is set and he can control the pacing of the match, he can give the ball an absolute ride.
“Lehecka in Miami, took the racket out of his hands, served well, and didn’t let Fils get into his rhythm.
“I’m not worried about the output of the product.
“He is the same as everyone else. His problem is two-fold: Jannik [Sinner] and Carlos.”
Alcaraz and Sinner have dominated men’s tennis for several years now.
They’ve won the last nine Grand Slam titles and currently occupy the top two spots in the world rankings.
If Fils is to begin challenging for the biggest titles in the sport, he will need to find a way to take down the Spaniard and the Italian.
And he will attempt to do so with the weight of a nation on his shoulders.
Respected tennis journalist Jon Wertheim shared what is already being said about Fils in France.
“I’m here in Paris, and already they’re saying, the men here go back to 1983, the talk here already is that this is going to be the next French player to win at Roland Garros,” he said.
- FACT – Yannick Noah was the last Frenchman to win Roland Garros (1983)
“He had a great match last year at Roland Garros, got the crowd into it, beat Jaume Munar, five sets drama, then he has that back injury, doesn’t play for months and months and months, that is an injury that spooked a lot of people.
“The way that he has come back and recovered, beating [Andrey] Rublev on clay! He hits a huge ball, but he also gives himself some margin. He is so fun to watch.
“He is 21, he has two more majors before he turns 22!
“If you were going to pick someone other than Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner to win Roland Garros, I’d put him in my top five right now.”
Roddick didn’t disagree, although he wondered whether the pressure would get to him.
Do you back yourself to win a point against John McEnroe?
67 years of experience!
“That’s a big statement,” he said.
“It’s really hard to play at home. We talk about the pressure in New York, the pressure in London, and there is real pressure in Paris.
“We’re five weeks out, and they’re already talking about it with this guy. It can go either way.”
“I think this is the rare French player who really is wired for it,” Wertheim replied.
“How do we know that though?” asked Roddick.
“He’s so outspoken, you see him at the Paris basketball games, he’s a public figure, he does interviews. You get the feeling he really likes it,” said Wertheim.
“I go back to that five-setter on Lenglen, and the way he did it, it was the opposite of a retreat, he just stole the match, the way he was into it, and showing off to the crowd, you get the feeling that this is somebody who warms to playing in France, where a lot of other players, male and female have had the opposite reaction.”
Wertheim believes Fils has what it takes to succeed in Paris, but how did his countrymen perform last year?
How did French players perform at Roland Garros last year?
18 French players entered the 2025 French Open men’s singles draw.
Nine failed to advance to the second round.
French players who lost in the first round (9)
- Arthur Rinderknech [LOSS] vs Jannik Sinner
- Terence Atmane [LOSS] vs Richard Gasquet
- Alexandre Muller [LOSS] vs Jakub Mensik
- Benjamin Bonzi [LOSS] vs Pierre-Hugues Herbert
- Clement Tabur [LOSS] vs Corentin Moutet
- Valentin Royer [LOSS] vs Daniel Elahi Galan
- Kyrian Jacquet [LOSS] vs Nuno Borges
- Arthur Cazaux [LOSS] vs Alejandro Tabilo
- Ugo Blanchet [LOSS] vs Hugo Gaston
A further seven players fell at the next hurdle.
French players who lost in the second round (7)
- Richard Gasquet [LOSS] vs Jannik Sinner
- Pierre-Hugues Herbert [LOSS] vs Joao Fonseca
- Gael Monfils [LOSS] vs Jack Draper
- Ugo Humbert [LOSS] vs Jacob Fearnley
- Corentin Moutet [LOSS] vs Novak Djokovic
- Hugo Gaston [WITHDREW]
- Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard [LOSS] vs Damir Dzumhur
And neither of the final two Frenchmen, Quentin Halys or Arthur Fils, qualified for the last 16.
French players who lost in the third round (2)
- Arthur Fils [WITHDREW]
- Quentin Halys [LOSS] vs Holger Rune
Only time will tell if French players will fare better in 2026.
The 2026 French Open begins on Sunday, May 24.
