The millionaire behind last Wimbledon hope Arthur Fery who almost bought Leeds United

Arthur Fery will carry Britain's hopes into the second week of Wimbledon when he steps onto Centre Court for the biggest match of his career.

The 23-year-old is the last British singles player left in the tournament after the country's other 18 entrants all exited before the third round.

Having never previously gone beyond the second round of a Grand Slam, Fery has already achieved a career-best run at this year's Championships. His reward is a last-16 showdown with former world number three Grigor Dimitrov, with a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals at stake.

It is another landmark moment in the remarkable journey of a player who grew up within walking distance of the All England Club and spent his childhood summers at Wimbledon with his French parents.

His mother, Olivia, enjoyed a successful professional tennis career, winning two singles titles and competing at the French Open in 1991. She later worked for the LTA, giving Arthur an early insight into the demands of elite tennis and what it takes to reach the highest level.

Sport also runs through the family on his father's side. Loic Fery is the former owner of French club Lorient, having bought the Ligue 1 side in 2009 at the age of just 35. During his time in football, he developed a close friendship with Arsene Wenger, while Arthur played junior tennis alongside the son of former Sunderland owner, Ellis Short.

Loic completed the sale of his remaining shares in Lorient to Black Knight Football Club (BKFC) earlier this year, making the group the club's sole shareholder, although he has remained in his role as president.

The businessman, who is estimated to be worth around £275million, also explored buying two massive football clubs in Yorkshire before deciding to invest in Lorient.

"I looked at investing in Sheffield Wednesday and also Leeds United, and got as far as making an on-site visit," he said in 2021. "But I thought Lorient was better value from the point of developing a business and it has been a good story so far. When I took over the club, it was in a bad financial situation with negative equity, but we have been able to balance the books over the past 11 seasons."

How much will Arthur Fery will earn in Wimbledon prize money?

Fery has already built a respectable career on the ATP Tour, earning around £650,000 in prize money before sponsorships and commercial partnerships are taken into account.

After first entering Wimbledon qualifying in 2021, he reached the main draw two years later and has featured at the Championships ever since. He exited in the first round on his first two appearances before reaching the second round last year.

This year's run to the fourth round is comfortably the best Grand Slam performance of his career, surpassing his previous best of reaching the second round at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

By reaching the last 16, Fery has already secured £300,000 in prize money. Victory over Dimitrov would see that figure rise to £480,000 and book his place in the quarter-finals, where he would face either fifth seed Alex de Minaur or ninth seed Flavio Cobolli.

A semi-final appearance would be worth £900,000, while reaching the final would guarantee at least £1.8 million. Winning the Wimbledon title would earn him a career-changing £3.6 million.

Wimbledon singles prize money by round

• Champion — £3,600,000
• Runner-up — £1,800,000
• Semi-finalist — £900,000
• Quarter-finalist — £480,000
• Fourth round — £300,000
• Third round — £185,000
• Second round — £126,000
• First round — £80,000
• Qualifying (third round) — £50,000
• Qualifying (second round) — £32,000
• Qualifying (first round) — £20,000