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Many fans would not have heard of Arthur Fils 12 months ago. Today the 19-year-old Frenchman is regarded as one of the sports’ most promising talents and he has capped his breakthrough year in style, being named the Newcomer of the Year in the 2023 ATP Awards.
“I’m really happy to win the ATP Newcomer of the Year,” said Fils. “It’s been an amazing year for me with a lot of good memories. I hope next year is going to be better, but thanks for the support all around the world.”
Fils started the season outside the Top 250 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings but peaked at a career-high No. 36 in October after reaching the final in Antwerp. The Frenchman’s standout highlight came on home soil in Lyon in May, when he won his first tour-level title. He was the youngest champion on the ATP Tour in 2023.
Fils’ breakthrough season started from day one. He won his first nine matches of the year on the ATP Challenger Tour, including a title run in Oeiras. In February, he made the most of opportunities to play at home, reaching the tour-level semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille.
He finished the season as strongly as he started, reaching the title match at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM in the first ATP-sanctioned event in Saudi Arabia.
“It was a nice year for sure. I started at 250 but finished at 36, so that’s pretty good,” Fils said. “It still could have been better. I lost some close matches, but it’s just experience and I will try to do better next year.”
Fils fended off competition from fellow nominees Flavio Cobolli, Alex Michelsen, Dominic Stricker and Luca Van Assche to win the Award. The 19-year-old joins Holger Rune, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as recent Newcomer of the Year winners.
Selected by players, the award goes to the #NextGenATP player who entered the Top 100 for the first time and made the biggest impact on the ATP Tour during the season.
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