Fery reaches first ATP Tour final at Winston-Salem after Duckworth retires

Arthur Fery reached his first ATP Tour final at the Winston-Salem Open on 29 August 2026 after James Duckworth retired with an injury while trailing 6-4 2-1.

Duckworth, the Australian, had called for a medical timeout after the first set before forfeiting the semi-final. Fery is the first Briton to reach the final of this ATP 250 event and his run follows a surprise run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July. He has also reached a career high of 33 in the world and overtaken Cameron Norrie to become British number one.

The 24-year-old described his feelings after the match and acknowledged the manner of the finish. "I am really happy to be in the final," said Fery. "Not the way I wanted it to end at all. I hope James will get well soon and rest up for next week. But I am very happy to be through."

Peru's Ignacio Buse, 22, will be Fery's opponent in the final; Buse is ranked 36th in the world. He will be aiming to win his second title of the season after beating Tommy Paul at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg in May.

Only eight weeks ago, before Fery's run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, he was ranked outside the top 100. His maiden ATP final comes ahead of next month's US Open, where he just missed out on being seeded and has been drawn against Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the opening round at Flushing Meadows in New York.

Fery faces Ignacio Buse in Saturday's final in North Carolina after Buse beat France's Benjamin Bonzi 6-2 4-6 6-1 to reach the other semi-final.