Arthur Fils has been clear that his association with tennis is beyond monetary value. In a wide-ranging interview with L’Equipe, the French No. 1 admitted that despite tennis already having secured his financial future well into adulthood, the idea of simply stopping and living off his earnings holds no appeal to him at all. 

“Tennis allows you to earn a lot of money, enough for me to say that at 35 I won’t need to work anymore. But if I stop working, I go crazy. Something has always drawn me in, the profession of actor. I’d really like to become an actor,” Fils said. 

The 22-year-old has already earned more than $7.5 million in career prize money, and will earn plenty more before his tennis career is done. But settling for that isn’t the plan. He’s chasing something else entirely once the racket goes down for good.

His current form makes that kind of long-term thinking feel earned rather than premature. After beating Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets to open his Cincinnati campaign, Fils fought through a grueling three-set battle against ninth seed Jiri Lehecka, winning 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3 to reach the round of 16, his fourth meeting with the Czech this year and his third straight win over him.

The result also extended his remarkable record in deciding sets to 9-0 for the season. “Honestly, that was one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played,” Fils said afterwards, reflecting the physical toll of a result that pushed him into a last-16 meeting with fifth seed Alex de Minaur, against whom he trails 2-1 in their head-to-head.

The run follows a strong resurgence from a rough, injury-riddled period. The Frenchman missed the Australian Open due to his long-standing back injury and came back in February. Then, he suffered a hip problem during a practice session at the Rome Masters, which forced him out of his home Grand Slam. 

His comeback from these setbacks has been relentless, with a title in Barcelona and semifinal appearances in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid. And now recovering from the hip injury, he has made it to the quarterfinals of the Canada Masters and is currently in the round of 16 at Cincinnati, extending his season record to 28-10.

Fils jokes about what money can actually buy

During the Cincinnati Masters, Arthur Fils was caught in a quick interview with ‘overtimetennis,’ a tennis content creation page on Instagram. The 21-year-old was asked to name five things that are worth spending money on; Fils answered in his unusually candid style: 

“A boat, a plane, a castle. I need two more,” he said, before the interviewer pointed out he had already covered most people’s entire wish list. “I have everything that I need,” Fils replied, before landing on his final answer. 

“Island. I’m gonna buy a goddamn country. That’s it.” Pressed on what he would actually call his newly purchased nation, Fils didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t know. I will name it Arthur Fils, bro. Where are you from? Arthur Fils.”

While he is joking about buying a country and sharing ambition about his acting career, who he is facing next is something he will be focusing on for now. Fils played Alex de Minaur in the first few comeback matches after the eight-month-long layoff and lost in straight sets at the ATP Rotterdam. Their head-to-head stands at 2-1, with the previous meetings won by the Australian. They are scheduled to play later in the day on the Grandstand court. Will Fils continue his deepest run at Cincinnati or will the fifth seed push his chase for his first Masters title?