The Princess of Wales has congratulated British tennis ace Arthur Fery on his ‘fantastic achievement’ after he became the first wildcard to reach Wimbledon‘s semi–final in 25 years.
Fery, 23, beat No9 seed Flavio Cobolli in straight sets this evening – cruising to the next round where he will face No2 seed Alexander Zverev.
Taking to X, Princess Catherine paid tribute to the ‘wonderful day at Wimbledon’.
She said: ‘Congratulations to Arthur Fery on becoming the first British wildcard to reach the Gentlemen’s Singles semi–finals in the Open Era, a fantastic achievement that has inspired so many. Wishing you the very best for the next round.’
The princess signed off her message with a tennis ball emoji and the letter ‘C’.
It follows the player being given a surprise greeting by the Queen earlier as he prepared to enter centre court for the biggest match of his career.
Fery appeared to be tying his shoelaces while alongside his opponent in the players’ entrance when Camilla walked up behind him.
The Queen shook his hand as Fery stood up and turned around – as he faced her he could be heard saying: ‘Nice to meet you.’
Arthur Fery falls to the floor as he celebrates winning match point to see off Flavio Cobolli
Taking to X, Princess Catherine paid tribute to the ‘wonderful day at Wimbledon’. She is pictured here earlier in the week
She said: ‘Congratulations to Arthur Fery on becoming the first British wildcard to reach the Gentlemen’s Singles semi–finals in the Open Era’
He is thought to have added, ‘you snuck up on me there’ before shouldering his bag and striding on to Centre Court.
Following the match, Fery revealed the Queen once again gave him her seal of approval – telling him ‘congratulations’ and to ‘keep going’.
Fery said: ‘It’s obviously an honour to play in front of her. It was great to meet her. She had some really kind words to me at the end, as well. Playing in front of tennis legends and now the Queen, it’s special.
‘She was waiting for me at the end of the match. She congratulated me. I told her how much of an honour it was for me to play in front of her. She just said: “Congratulations, keep going”.’
‘I told her it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday.’
The royal blessing forms part of a new world for the breakout tennis star, who has made his mark during the Championships this year.
It came amidst a royal affair at Wimbledon this afternoon, as the Queen enjoyed a day out with her younger sister Annabel Elliot, alongside newlyweds Peter and Harriet Phillips.
Camilla, 78, looked chic in a cerulean Anna Valentine dress – the same one she wore to the Ascot races last month – as she took in the action at SW19 on Day 10 of the championship.
Arthur Fery was given a surprise greeting by the Queen as he prepared to enter Centre Court for the biggest match of his career
The Queen was joined by her sister, right, in the Royal Box for Day 10 of Wimbledon, alongside The All England Lawn Tennis Club Chair Deborah Jevans
Fery has now won five matches this fortnight, having won just one match at Wimbledon previously
He raised a fist to the crowd to salute his victory as the British wildcard reached the semi–finals
The Princess of Wales herself has been indulging in the best of the action at Wimbledon – ditching the Royal Box to soak in the scenes.
The tennis–mad royal – who is a keen player herself and often hands the trophy to the winner at the end of the tournament – was previously joined by tennis royalty in SW19, sitting next to the likes of Sir Andy Murray and Tim Henman on a glorious summer day last week.
She then donned an elegant blue linen suit from Gabriela Hearst for the occasion, which she paired with a white top and Ralph Lauren sunglasses.
Fery had progressed to today’s round after beating Grigor Dimitrov on his Centre Court debut on Monday – he had then been the first wildcard in more than a decade to reach the Wimbledon quarter–finals.
Barely known outside British tennis circles, the 23–year–old had only two Tour–level wins in his life before the grass season began.
But this evening his slices of both forehand and backhand and his drop shots saw him cruise to Friday’s semi–finals.
The last wildcard to reach the round was Croatian Goran Ivanisevic, 25 years ago.
If he manages to beat Alexander Zverev he will play either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic in the final on the day of his 24th birthday.
Although Fery’s run to the quarter–finals had been hugely impressive he had up to that point not played anyone inside the world’s top 35.
But that changed this evening when he faced No9 seed Cobolli – who was a French Open finalist last month.
The Princess at Wales was in attendance at Wimbledon for the men’s final last year when she handed Jannik Sinner the trophy following an enthralling four–set battle.
She was joined in the Royal Box on that occasion by her husband Prince William, eldest son Prince George and Princess Charlotte but Louis stayed at home.
The Princess donned her ‘Wimbledon bow’ – a brooch featuring the tournament’s iconic colours.
Kate was also present for the 2025 women’s final and offered consoling words to the runner–up Amanda Anisimova after her 6–0, 6–0 loss to Polish player Iga Swiatek.
In 2024, while recovering from cancer, Kate did not attend the women’s final but was on hand for Carlos Alcaraz’s win over Novak Djokovic at the All England Club.
