Arthur Fils, world number 11, won the ATP 500 in Tokyo back in 2024. In 2026 he’ll be starting from qualifying. He registered late, a fact revealed three weeks before 25 September, and the tournament did not hand him a wild card.
The three main-draw wild cards went to Kei Nishikori, Sho Shimabukuro and Rei Sakamoto, three Japanese players. The tournament runs from 30 September to 6 October.
It’s very simple. I said it back in January: watch the entry deadlines, that’s where careers are won and lost. Ninety percent of careers, and I’m being generous, die at the registration desk. Me, in Kitzbühel, in ’92, I signed up three weeks early, and they still stuck me on the back court. Careful, I’m not saying he won’t get through qualifying. I’m saying he might. Or he might not. The spirit was there, mind you.
Two qualifying rounds, then, for the world number 11, unless he skips the event altogether. A situation that immediately roused the house pundit, who hadn’t been asked anything by anyone, and whom nobody had asked anything either.
Three wild cards for three Japanese players in Tokyo? That’s exactly what I’ve been saying for years, nobody listens: an invitation belongs at home first. At the Léopold club, in interclubs, it’s the same, the captain picks the ones who bring the drinks first. Well, the captain is me, but the principle still holds. And I’ll say this: I predicted all three names. Not word for word, but the number, yes. Three. I had it.
Pressed on the case of a former champion forced back into qualifying, Jean-Pol clarified his position, for the third time in two minutes.
Two qualifying rounds, that’s a warm-up. Me, in Kitzbühel, in ’92, I went through three, or four, the draw hadn’t even gone up yet. Careful, I’m not saying the opposite of what I said. I’m saying he’ll get through. Unless he doesn’t, in which case I said that too. Fair enough?
Arthur Fils could also simply skip the tournament. Jean-Pol, for his part, has already filed both outcomes under successful predictions.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
