Arthur Fils misses out on ATP top 10 after US Open

Arthur Fils will not break into the ATP top 10 on Monday, extending the wait for a Frenchman to return to that group. The opportunity opened after Novak Djokovic’s early US Open exit, but Frances Tiafoe’s quarter-final victory over Alex Michelsen claimed the ranking place that Fils had been chasing.

Tiafoe recovered to beat Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 and moved into the semi-finals. The result guarantees the American a top-10 position and leaves Fils no higher than 11th. He could drop to 12th if Belgium’s Alexandre Blockx wins the tournament. Fils had already exited in the first round against Stefano Tsitsipas.

The setback keeps French men’s tennis without a top-10 player since 19 March 2018. Fils would have become the 13th Frenchman to reach that level, following players including Yannick Noah, Henri Leconte, Guy Forget, Cédric Pioline, Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gaël Monfils.

His rise remains significant. Fils was ranked 42nd seven months ago after spending six months away from competition between August 2025 and February 2026, before winning the Cincinnati Masters 1000 title. He is sixth in the Race for the ATP Finals and has no points to defend in the coming weeks. Tokyo, Shanghai, Brussels, Basel and the Paris Masters now form the key stretch in his pursuit of qualification for Turin.