Arthur Fils hired Goran Ivanisevic as his coach in February at the Qatar Open.
There, in just his third tournament back from a long-term injury, Fils reached the final, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.
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The Frenchman won the Barcelona Open a few months later, rediscovering the form he showed before missing the second half of the 2025 season.
Having worked with Fils for five months now, Ivanisevic has made a bold ranking prediction.
Goran Ivanisevic says Arthur Fils is ‘definitely a top-five player’ if he stays healthy
During an interview with ‘Jutarnji‘, Ivanisevic shared an update on his coaching relationship with Fils.
“I’m super happy, he’s exactly the type of player I wanted to work with,” said Ivanisevic (translated from Croatian).
“He’s young, he’s one of the biggest talents, someone whose game is enjoyable, he’s powerful.
“It’s a shame that at the moment when he was in shape, he had problems with injuries. We found the right people to solve it.
“He played Wimbledon; it could have been better, but it was great that he played at all.”
After missing the French Open and the beginning of the grass-court season with a back injury, Fils returned at Wimbledon, where he reached the second round.
Arthur Fils’ record since Goran Ivanisevic became his coach (21-6)
| Tournament | Performance | Players beaten | Defeat |
| Qatar Open | Final | 4 (Kamil Majchrzak, Quentin Halys, Jiri Lehecka, Jakub Mensik) | Carlos Alcaraz |
| Indian Wells | Quarter-final | 3 (Dino Prizmic, Marton Fucsovics, Felix Auger-Aliassime) | Alexander Zverev |
| Miami Open | Semi-final | 4 (Darwin Blanch, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Valentin Vacherot, Tommy Paul) | Jiri Lehecka |
| Barcelona Open | Winner | 5 (Terence Atmane, Brandon Nakashima, Lorenzo Musetti, Rafael Jodar, Andrey Rublev) | – |
| Madrid Open | Semi-final | 4 (Ignacio Buse, Emilio Nava, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Jiri Lehecka) | Jannik Sinner |
| Italian Open | Second round | – | Andrea Pellegrino |
| Wimbledon | Second round | 1 (Raphael Collignon) | Matteo Berrettini |
Ivanisevic continued, predicting where Fils could reach in the world rankings.
“I think he’s capable of entering the top 10 by the end of the year, and he’s definitely a top-five player,” he said.
“As long as he’s healthy.”
Ivanisevic believes Fils has what it takes to be a top-five player, provided he stays healthy.
But how realistic is that goal? And is he actually on target to finish 2026 ranked inside the top 10?
Arthur Fils is the current world number 22
There are currently 21 players ranked above Fils.
Live ATP Rankings
- 20. Francisco Cerundolo – 2,060 points
- 21. Tommy Paul – 2,025 points
- 22. Arthur Fils – 1,990 points
- 23. Rafael Jodar – 1,927 points
- 24. Luciano Darderi – 1,925 points
However, the rankings don’t tell the full story.
The ‘Live ATP Race to Turin’ gives a more accurate representation of Fils’ likely year-end ranking.
Live ATP Race to Turin
- 1. Jannik Sinner – 7,950 points
- 2. Alexander Zverev – 6,540 points
- 3. Carlos Alcaraz – 3,650 points
- 4. Flavio Cobolli – 3,020 points
- 5. Daniil Medvedev – 2,520 points
- 6. Novak Djokovic – 2,310 points
- 7. Felix Auger-Aliassime – 2,190 points
- 8. Alex de Minaur – 2,070 points
- 9. Ben Shelton – 2,030 points
- 10. Arthur Fils – 1,940 points
There, Fils is 10th, having accumulated 1,940 points this year.
With only 50 points to defend between now and the end of 2026, the 22-year-old is well-positioned to charge up the rankings.
If Fils can play as well as he did earlier in the year, where he won the Barcelona Open, played the final in Doha and reached the semi-finals of two Masters 1000 events, there is every chance he finishes 2026 as a top 10 player.
But as Ivanisevic rightly pointed out, his success will largely be determined by his ability to stay healthy.
Fils has only played two tournaments since May 9, winning one match in the last 74 days.
If he can’t get on top of his injury issues, the greatest French hope since Richard Gasquet may never reach his full potential.
The youngster is expected to return to action at the Washington Open next week, where he will be joined by several big names, including Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, Ben Shelton, and Taylor Fritz.
