When Arthur Fils returned to competition in Montpellier this month, for the first time since Toronto last summer, the question was not how long it would take him to get back to his best level, but if he’d ever be able to find the form he needs to matter on tour. Fils stunned the tennis world by trying to come back in Toronto last summer after discovering two stress fractures in his spine at Roland-Garros, having struggled with back pain since Miami. He stunned in a different way last week in Doha by reaching the final just a few weeks after starting his 2026 season. 

“I didn’t know I was going to play that well that fast, for sure,” Fils said in Doha. “You don’t really know what to expect when you are back from an injury like eight months. I’m pretty happy with the way I’m playing now. It’s not my best tennis yet, but we’re getting there. I found out I was pretty strong mentally, as I didn’t really ask myself whether I’d be back. I was sure I would be back at my level, and for sure at a higher level.”

Fils, who cut significant weight to protect his back, reached the quarters in Montpellier at the start of the month, beaten by future champion Felix Auger-Aliassime. He then lost his first match in Rotterdam against Alex de Minaur, who would go on to win the title. Nobody was reading too much into these matches for a player who had been out for months and was just starting to claw his way back, a climb that is notoriously more and more difficult these days due to the depth of the field. Well, Fils said “Hold my baguette” to all this and tore through the draw in Doha, defeating Kamil Majchrzak, Quentin Halys, Jiri Lehecka, and Jacub Mensik before falling, like everybody else this year so far, against Carlos Alcaraz. Guaranteed to get back into the top 40, Fils was so impressive that people started to ask him again about challenging the Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz duopoly!

Yet, after the way he got crushed in the final—losing in just 50 minutes—Fils saw that the gap was much wider right now than when he pushed Carlitos to the third set in Monte-Carlo last spring. Logical for someone just returning to it all, but still crushing. “I need to stay positive: It was a very good week, and I made the final. It was much more complicated for me, but these are things that can happen, and we have to move forward. I played less well than I did the rest of the week, but he’s No. 1, hasn’t lost a match since the start of the year, and I think you can see why. For now, it’s another level. I’m not there yet. I’m not there at all. I’ll work for it, but for now, I’m not there at all.”

But there’s a future where he can get there, and that’s the thing: Nobody doubts that Fils, who reached a career high of 14th last year, can be a legit contender for the biggest titles when healthy, with that heavy whip of a forehand and a fearless attitude. Nobody doubts how badly he wants it, either. Here’s a player who says he wants to win Grand Slam titles, who truly believes it and puts the work behind his words. It’s not always the case. New evidence of this occurred in Doha when, out of the blue, Goran Ivanisevic appeared in his box alongside his coach. You don’t commit to hiring that legend if you’re not serious about your ambition.

“He knows my coach, Ivan Cinkus, very well, so the connection was pretty easy. We decided to take a shot and try. It’s working pretty well for now. I have a lot of ambition: Since I was very young, I’ve wanted to be one of the best tennis players and to try my best to win some great titles, some Slams,” Fils said in Doha. “Everyone knows I’m one of the best when I play well, but I need to be one of the best when I play badly.”

I was personally reassured to hear Fils confirming he wouldn’t push his body too hard just now, whatever the results. He’s indeed now in a tricky situation: He’s young and very promising; he has sponsors to satisfy, money to earn; and after being deprived of competition for months, he’s very hungry to go out there and fulfill that potential. But there’s no way to avoid the fact that his career hangs on that testy back now.

His only way to the top will be through extreme cautiousness: “For now, everything is fine with my back. It’s holding up, so we keep going. Now it’s also about being smart about it all and not pushing too much.” Fils didn’t play in Dubai after his performance in Doha, withdrawing ahead of his first match against Jiri Lehecka, citing hip injury. 

The reality is that Arthur Fils is surely France’s best hope to (finally) win a men’s Grand Slam title again and surely the player who’s the most ready to do what it takes to succeed, but he might also be the most fragile. In Doha, we had a glimpse again of how great Fils could be. Now it’s about him having the chance to turn it into a full-time reality, freed from that sword of Damocles that hopefully no longer dangles above his spine.