Princess Kate has taken to social media to hail a “memorable day” marked today at Wimbledon. The Princess of Wales called Arthur Fery’s victory a “fantastic achievement”, as the patron of the All England Club personally congratulated the British wildcard for reaching the semi-finals of the competition.
Following his emphatic win Princess Kate took to X to congratulate the 23-year-old who beat Italian ninth seed Flavio Cobolli on Centre Court this afternoon. The full statement read: “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. C.”
Fery, who grew up only 10 minutes from the All England Club, will face men’s second seed, Alexander Zverev on Friday.
He is just the second wildcard in Wimbledon history to make it through to a semi-final.
Queen Camilla, who made a surprise visit to Wimbledon, was also seen supporting Fery from the royal box, wearing a turquoise chiffon dress by designer Anna Valentine.
Camilla joined the rest of the joyous crowd to give Fery a standing ovation, smiling as she clapped along. Following his victory, Fery told courtside interviewer Lee McKenzie: “I can’t believe it, it’s incredible playing on Centre Court for the second time, the second win.”
Asked how he would be preparing for Friday’s semi-final, he said: “I don’t know as I’ve never been in this position before.
“I’m just going to keep going, I’ve been doing a great for the last 10 days I’m just going to keep going and see where that takes me.”
Fery dropped to the floor after his winning ace, before walking up to the net and shaking hands with his opponent.
The Wimbledon semi-finalist moved to SW19 at just two years old and has two French parents.
Reflecting on sons achievements at this year’s tournament, his father Loïc, said: “We’re all very, very proud of him. He’s a Wimbledon boy. England means a lot and Great Britain means a lot because he grew up here.
“And he’s always, despite having two French parents, he’s always been very, very attached to playing for a team from GB. He played Davis Cup last year. It was one of the biggest honours he could have and he was so proud of it and he won.”