Fils reflects on long road back: 'It was very mental'
Arthur Fils’ smile said it all in Rotterdam.
After months of rehab, doubt and patience-testing days away from the Tour following a stress fracture in his lower back, the Frenchman is back where he belongs and ready to compete, chase wins and feel the buzz of the sport once again.
“It has been a very, very long time, about eight months really, so I am just so pleased to be back,” Fils told ATPTour.com. “It feels so good. To feel the excitement again, the crowd, the atmosphere. I am ready.”
Fils’ injury troubles began during the 2025 clay season, when he suffered a back stress fracture at Roland Garros in May. The issue forced him to withdraw from his home major ahead of the third round and miss the grass swing entirely. He returned briefly at the start of August in Toronto, where he played two matches and earned one win, but the comeback proved premature.
The 21-year-old’s back was not ready for the demands of the Tour and another extended spell on the sidelines followed before he finally made his return at the ATP 250 event in Montpellier last week, reaching the quarter-finals.
For a player used to building rhythm through matches, the months away were especially difficult. The physical rehab was demanding, but the mental challenge of being absent and watching others compete proved even tougher.
“It was very mental, to be honest,” Fils said. “It was more being on the sidelines than the pain itself. At one point I stopped watching tennis completely because I just wanted to be there. When you can’t be there and you’re watching the matches, it’s more painful. You feel like you’re missing something every week. I found that a real challenge, and a little lonely at times.”
[NO 1 CLUB]With the calendar moving on, Fils focused on the long view. Together with his team, he resisted the temptation to rush back, instead committing to a careful and methodical rehabilitation process.
“We had to take our time,” Fils said. “We built up the strength in the gym first and then slowly returned to the court. My team and I were very careful because the back is such a major area. We needed to build it up slowly, with a lot of strengthening and flexibility work to build up mobility. There was no point rushing anything.”
On the tougher days, Fils leaned on reminders of what he had already achieved and why the work was worth it. Before the injury halted his momentum, the 21-year-old had climbed to a career-high No. 14 in the PIF ATP Rankings and captured ATP Tour titles in Lyon (2023), Hamburg (2024) and Tokyo (2024).
“You have to think about that and the past success to push on,” Fils said. “I knew that I was playing very good tennis before I got injured, and I had already done some good things on the Tour. So I told myself, ‘You just have to wait, take the time, and when you come back, you’ll play as good as you did before.’”
That belief carried him through the final stages of rehab and into his long-awaited return in Montpellier. After nearly eight months away, questions remained over how his body would respond and how quickly match sharpness would return.
“The most important thing in Montpellier was to see how the body felt,” Fils said. “After eight months, the first match is never easy. You always have questions. But the body felt good and the mind felt good as well. That was the biggest positive.”
Fils earned reassurance with wins against Valentin Royer and Ugo Blanchet en route to the quarter-finals, before eventual champion Felix Auger-Aliassime proved too strong. Beyond the results, simply being back around the Tour again carried its own significance.
“I received a lot of messages of support from friends on the Tour,” Fils said. “That meant a lot. And it was really nice to see everyone again, especially in the locker room. You realise how much you missed those small things when you are back.”
[ATP APP]Now in the Netherlands, Fils continues his comeback at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, where he opens against top seed and two-time finalist Alex de Minaur. With his body responding well, the focus has shifted to balance, managing expectations and trusting the work already done.
“I’m taking it one match at a time,” Fils said. “I feel good physically, which is the most important thing. I’m ready to play here and really looking forward to it. But I’m also trying to be smart. Not staying on site too long, going back to the hotel, saving energy. It’s about finding the right balance.
“I know how much work we have put in to come back, so I’m not worried about the back. I don’t have stress or pressure. I just feel good to be back playing. I can’t go out on court overthinking. I just trust the work we have done.”
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