Fery Last Brit Standing as Three More Bow Out at Wimbledon
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- Arthur Fery became the last British singles player at Wimbledon 2026 after beating Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen 5-7 7-6 (3) 6-3 6-3 to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, as a wild card at age 23.
- Fery dropped serve only once in the match despite a mid-match nosebleed and the on-court presence of the Princess of Wales, levelling through a tie-break before edging ahead for the first time with a lob that set up one of three break points against the 6ft 4in Virtanen.
- Katie Swan, Jacob Fearnley and Jan Choinski all exited the singles — Swan falling 6-1 6-4 to 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Fearnley losing in straight sets to Jaume Munar after a five-set first-round comeback, and Choinski going down 4-6 6-2 7-5 6-2 to 17th seed Frances Tiafoe.
- Former finalist Matteo Berrettini earned his first Centre Court victory since 2021 by beating 20th seed Arthur Fils 6-4 7-5 3-6 6-3, two days after upsetting Stan Wawrinka in four sets on Court One.
- Second seed Alexander Zverev and sixth seed Taylor Fritz both advanced in straight sets, with Zverev notching his 50th career tour-level victory on grass and Fritz lightening the mood by copying Frances Tiafoe's method for ripping off his white trousers mid-match.
- Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club, gets to sleep at home between matches and now faces Belgium's Zizou Bergs — the Eastbourne winner — in round three.
Why it matters: Fery's run ensures British fans have a homegrown singles player into the second week of a Grand Slam where the rest of the cohort has fallen early — and gives the 23-year-old wild card a marquee third-round test against in-form Belgian Zizou Bergs in front of a home crowd.
