‘I feel confident’: Arthur Fils retires hurt in Basel but expects to play Paris Masters
Arthur Fils retired from his Basel quarterfinal against Taylor Fritz on Friday with pain in his leg and will have tests in Paris. The Frenchman told L’Équipe he feels confident about playing the Rolex Paris Masters.
Arthur Fils, 2026 | © Anthony Benoit/Psnewz
Arthur Fils walked off court in Basel on Friday with pain in his leg, a round of medical tests ahead of him and his Turin hopes waiting on the results. The Frenchman retired from his quarterfinal against Taylor Fritz soon after it began (6-2, 2-0 ret.).
That came three days before the Rolex Paris Masters, where the last places at the Nitto ATP Finals should be decided. The world No. 8 still said he expected to be there.
“I felt a little pain in my leg on a movement at the very start of the match, and it didn’t go away,” Fils told L’Équipe, without saying which leg. “I asked for a medical timeout, but it didn’t get any better, so I made the decision to stop.”
Depending on the tests, we’ll see what we do for the rest of the season.
He will now see his doctors before deciding anything. “I’m going to go back to Paris to have tests and talk with my team,” he said. “Depending on the tests, we’ll see what we do for the rest of the season.”
The Paris Masters starts Monday, and Fils would not play his first match before Tuesday or Wednesday. Asked again about it, he did not hesitate. “Yes, I feel confident. I’ll see how it goes with the team, but I feel confident.”
The retirement sends Fritz into the semifinals and ends Fils’s chance of sealing his Turin place this week. He needed the Basel title to make sure of qualification. He started Friday holding one of the five places still open in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, behind Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton, who have already qualified.
That leaves Paris as the last stop. It is the final Masters 1000 of the season and Fils’s home event, and the Nitto ATP Finals follow in Turin on Nov. 15-22.
