Rising tennis star Arthur Fery extended a warm invitation to the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales for a friendly game of tennis.
Arthur Fery has proposed a tennis match with the Wales children
At just 24, Fery has made a remarkable achievement as the first British wildcard to advance to Wimbledon’s semi-finals. As the men’s singles final approaches this Sunday (12.07.26), he has already shared conversations with Prince William, Catherine, and their eldest children, 12-year-old Prince George and 11-year-old Princess Charlotte.
He told Catherine: “I hear your children play tennis a lot…if you guys want to hit some balls anytime, that would be great.”
Handing Arthur a card to mark his birthday on Sunday, she said: “Thank you, do you get some downtime now?”
He told the family: “Thanks a lot, I’m so pleased, it was a great two weeks.
“I’m so glad that I got to spend so much time here and thank you for coming.”
Catherine told Arthur she had "loved" seeing him in action on Court 18 last week against Otto Virtane, and he admitted his first time on Centre Court had been "really special".
He added: “I was a little nervous, definitely, but once I was out there I was fine.”
William also congratulated Arthur and wished him a happy birthday.
He told him: "What a tournament…you’re the first British wildcard to reach the semifinals.”
He noted it would be "only up from here" for the player.
After his meeting with the family - who were without the youngest member, eight-year-old Prince Louis - Arthur confirmed he had offered to get on the court with the children.
He said: “The Princess came to my match in the second round, it was great to have her there and we spoke a little about that.
“It was good to see her here and good to meet her finally. She wished me good luck for the rest of the year and congratulated me for these two weeks.
“I know the whole family are all tennis fans, so I told her if her kids ever wanted to hit, I’m free. It would be good to see them again…Let’s see if I get the call up.”
William and Catherine were accompanied to the men's final by their older children last year, where George discussed his abilities on court when they were introduced to Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who had become the first all-British duo to win the Wimbledon doubles tournament the day before.
Catherine congratulated the pair on their victory and noted the heat they had played through.
Julian told her the match was good but "stressful", and then in a discussion about George playing tennis, the 29-year-old sportsman asked the young prince about his ability on court.
According to the Daily Telegraph, George appeared to shrug and replied: “I’m all right.”