Arthur Fils has made a miraculous return to form after such a long spell on the sidelines.
After all, having picked up a back injury at Roland Garros, he shut down the bulk of his 2025 season.
Despite making a premature comeback attempt in August, the youngster accepted that he needed to rest and made his official return just last month in Montpellier.
Then, just two tournaments later, he was facing Carlos Alcaraz in the final of an ATP 500-level event.
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He lost heavily, but proved his quality on the biggest stage once again.
And now, he has explained how he avoided making a ‘stupid’ mistake after that defeat, as he gears up for his latest event in California.
Arthur Fils says he avoided a ‘stupid’ mistake after Qatar Open final defeat
Speaking ahead of his return to action in Indian Wells to the press, Arthur Fils offered a brief but positive fitness update after a challenging but supremely rewarding week in Qatar.
He admitted, whilst also referencing his decision to withdraw from Dubai: “No, no, everything is good. You know, just did it by precaution, you know.
“It’s been eight long months. It would be stupid from my side to, I don’t want to say any bad words, but to go back where I started again [by playing in Dubai]. So no, we just didn’t play by precaution, you know, and then to get ready to play the, what do you call it? Sunshine Double? There we go.”
Then asked about reaching the final, Fils was unsurprisingly happy with his run despite losing to Alcaraz in record time: “Yeah, that was nice, you know. It’s been a long time already that I didn’t play any finals. The last one was in Tokyo.
“So, yeah, it felt pretty good. I felt very happy to be back on court, especially at this level.
“Of course, the final didn’t go for me, but just the whole week was nice and was very nice to play.”
Alcaraz pointed out the mistake Fils made in their Qatar Open final, but realistically, the Spaniard was just too good on the night.
Arthur Fils has made a phenomenal return from injury
Despite the rapid and ruthless nature of his Qatar Open final defeat to Alcaraz, Fils should still be very proud of his run in Qatar.
After all, it marked just his third tournament of the year, having not played in over six months before his return in Montpellier.
Reaching the quarterfinals in his home country, he was then defeated by eventual champion Alex de Minaur in the first round in Rotterdam, although he did take the first set to a tiebreaker.
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Then, the Frenchman really put his fitness to the test, outlasting big servers like Kamil Majchrzak and Quentin Halys before mustering hugely impressive victories against Jiri Lehecka and Jakub Mensik.
His match against Alcaraz proved a step too far, but should Fils maintain such form and remain intelligent with his scheduling, he could prove to be a real threat for elite honours in the months to come.
