His run of five victories, which produced a stunning turnaround in his career, was celebrated as a glorious “Fery-tale”. But it does not take long in the company of the measured and thoughtful 24-year-old for the grit to emerge from the deeper shadows in his story. There has been more pain than glory in the long hard slog to this point but, amid the doubt caused by his injury, Fery’s self-belief has remained intact.
As he says in Cincinnati, his success at Wimbledon provides a dizzying contrast to the testing times he has endured. Last year he did not even play the qualifying rounds in New York but he will now make his debut at the US Open which begins this week. Memories of his travails from 12 months ago are still clear as Fery says: “I came back from an arm injury before Wimbledon 2025.
I won a round at Wimbledon so that would have pushed my ranking up. But this time last year I had an MRI scan because my arm was really painful again. I was battling arm pain for a long time.” Fery has been able to play many more tournaments over the past year but he nods when asked if he had begun to doubt he would become a leading player?
Between 2023 and 2025 I barely played a full schedule because of my arm. I was battling for two years and it’s still not completely resolved. But it’s on the way there.
It’s getting better and I’m able to play a lot of tournaments. But that helped shape me as a warrior who has a good mentality – even though I wish [the arm injury] had never happened.” Fourteen months ago, while Fery was mainly playing Challenger events where it is so hard to make money and rack up ranking points, his friend Jack Draper had risen to world No 4. Draper looked ready to fight Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz for grand slam titles – only for an arm injury to ruin his past year.
He has slumped to No 143 and, after breaking down in tears in Toronto this month, Draper has withdrawn from the US Open. When we discuss his empathy for Draper, Fery says: “It’s the same injury. We text because sometimes his arm’s doing well and mine’s not or vice versa.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
