Arthur Fery Stuns Cobolli With Upset At Australian Open

British tennis fans woke up to a jolt of excitement on Sunday as Arthur Fery, the unseeded qualifier from London, delivered the first major upset of the 2026 Australian Open. In a confident and composed performance, Fery toppled Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli in straight sets—7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 6-1—on the sunlit courts of John Cain Arena in Melbourne. For the 23-year-old, it wasn’t just a victory; it was a statement, and a sign that his patient, unconventional path to the top is finally paying off.

“Incredible experience here,” Fery said in his on-court interview, beaming with satisfaction. “My first time playing a main-draw Slam outside of Wimbledon and it didn’t disappoint on such a great court with great fans as well.”

Fery’s journey to this moment has been anything but typical. Born in France to parents steeped in the world of professional sport—his mother Olivia a former tennis pro and his father Loic the owner and president of French Ligue 1 football club Lorient—he grew up in Wimbledon, just a stone’s throw from the All England Club. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Fery delayed his full-time professional debut to pursue a degree at Stanford University, where he became a two-time ITA All-American and majored in science, technology and society. The American collegiate system, with its noisy crowds and team spirit, helped him develop the mental toughness needed for the pro circuit.

“They’re both extremely supportive. Not only now but in the past 10 to 15 years I’ve been playing sport,” Fery said of his parents. “It is important to recognise their help, not only now I’m having success but also in the bad times in the past two years. It’s been a long journey.”

That journey was slowed by injuries, most notably a bruised bone in his arm—an affliction similar to the one currently sidelining British number one Jack Draper. Fery’s rise up the rankings was also interrupted when he retired from his first tournament of the season in Canberra due to arm pain, arriving in Melbourne unsure how his body would hold up. But any doubts were quickly dispelled as he breezed through qualifying without dropping a set, and then produced a career-best performance against Cobolli.

“I just feel really confident,” Fery told reporters after the match. “I feel I don’t have to overplay with guys like that. With Prizmic in quallies and Cobolli today, I felt like I was really fine to stick from the back with them. I feel like I’m able to reproduce that level.”

Standing at 1.75 meters (5ft 9in), Fery is one of the shortest men in the draw, but what he lacks in height, he compensates for with athleticism, fast hands, and a sharp tennis mind. Throughout Sunday’s two-hour, 12-minute contest, he showcased his trademark aggressive baseline play, opening the court with angular groundstrokes, moving forward to the net at every opportunity, and converting six of his ten break-point chances. His serve may not pack the punch of some of his taller rivals, but his ability to absorb and redirect pace, combined with clever changes of speed and direction, kept Cobolli constantly off balance.

The match itself was a rollercoaster early on. Fery twice went up a break in the opening set, only to be reeled back in by Cobolli. But when it mattered most, Fery dominated the tiebreak 7-1, and from there, the contest began to tilt decisively in his favor. Cobolli, who had guided Italy to a third straight Davis Cup title just two months ago and reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals last summer, was visibly struggling physically. He called for the trainer after the first game and took several medical timeouts, with the doctor providing electrolyte tablets and Cobolli dashing off court for a toilet break at the end of the first set. The Italian, playing his third match of the season, simply couldn’t find his rhythm, committing a costly 38 unforced errors and eight double faults to Fery’s 25 and zero, respectively.

“It seems I like drawing 20th seeds at Grand Slams,” Fery joked, referencing his similar upset of Alexei Popyrin at Wimbledon in 2025. That victory, like today’s, was against a player seeded 20th and ranked No. 22 in the world—an uncanny bit of symmetry for the Briton, who now owns three tour-level wins, two of them at Grand Slam events.

Adding a personal touch to the day was the presence of Fery’s mother, Olivia, who made a last-minute dash from Europe to Melbourne after his final qualifying win. “When I won that last round, she asked me if she could come,” Fery recounted. “I said, ‘Of course, it would be nice to have you here.’ It’s obviously a long way, but at least I made it worth it. She can see at least two matches—hopefully more.” His father and siblings watched from back home in London, no doubt glued to their screens in the early hours.

The match wasn’t without drama. There were two lengthy video review delays in the first set—one when Cobolli challenged that Fery had touched the net, and another when Fery believed his opponent had hit an underarm serve while a ball kid was still moving. Both calls ultimately went Fery’s way, but the interruptions only added to the tension and spectacle on court.

Elsewhere on Day 1, other seeds were able to avoid the upset bug. No. 18 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina dispatched Zhizhen Zhang 6-3, 7-6 (0), 6-3, saving both break points he faced. France’s Corentin Moutet, seeded 32nd, handled home favorite Tristan Schoolkate 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-3, capitalizing on 49 unforced errors from his opponent. Third seed Alexander Zverev overcame a slow start to defeat Canada’s Gabriel Diallo 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, firing 15 aces and winning 95% of his first-serve points in the third set.

For Fery, the reward for his breakthrough is a second-round clash against Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who survived a five-set marathon against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic. After such a commanding display, who’s to say Fery’s run can’t continue a little longer?

As the sun set on Melbourne Park, Arthur Fery’s name was on everyone’s lips. The British qualifier had not only made his mum’s trip worthwhile—he’d made a nation take notice. The 2026 Australian Open has its first real Cinderella story, and it’s only just begun.