Jacob Fearnley is one of Britain’s top young players looking to make a big impression on the ATP Tour.
He was introduced to a wider audience at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, when he faced Novak Djokovic in the second round.
The Serbian claimed victory but he needed four sets to see off Fearnley, who has grown in confidence ever since that result.
He is now into the world’s top 60 and is aiming for a strong run at Queen’s ahead of the Wimbledon.
Jacob Fearnley says his feelings towards the Queen’s Club Championships have changed
Many British tennis players dream of playing on grass and competing on home soil, especially at Wimbledon.
Queen’s is one of the most popular and prestigious warm-up events on tour that players enter before heading to the All-England Club.
Jacob Fearnley is competing at Queen’s for the first time and is into the quarter-finals after defeating Corentin Moutet in three sets. The Brit has now won all 19 of the matches has has played against Frenchman since turning professional.
Despite reaching the last eight, the Brit explained the difficulties of playing such a high-profile tournament on home soil, which he is now embracing.
“I’ve dreamed of being at Queen’s since I was a kid, it’s a tournament I’ve watched, been watching Andy Murray win Queen’s since I can remember, so it’s pretty cool being in London,” Fearnley told reporters.
“I feel a lot more support, you know, it’s it kind of goes one or two ways you maybe feel a little bit more pressure because you want to perform, but like when you step out in court, you really feel the love and you feel the English support and the British support even for myself.
“Sometimes, you know, when you kind of feel some more pressure, sometimes it’s kind of tough to enjoy it for what it is and like be in the present moment, so I feel like that’s something that as the week’s going on I’m getting a bit better at and kind of really relishing it, you know?”
“One of the things I was mainly focusing on was honestly just smiling, you know, something as simple as that, smiling, enjoying it, but I thought that’s it, I settled in pretty quickly.”
Jacob Fearnley aims for more Grand Slam success at Wimbledon
In 2025 Fearnley achieved the best results of his career at the Australian Open and French Open.
The Brit reached the third round at Melbourne Park, beating Nick Kyrgios and Arthur Cazaux, before losing to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev.
In Paris, Fearnley defeated former champion Stan Wawrinka and was leading Ugo Humbert by a set before he could no longer continue playing in set two.
Fearnley played his compatriot Cam Norrie, but the 29-year-old claimed a straight-sets victory to end his run.
After some encouraging results in 2025, Fearnley will fancy his chances of producing some impressive performances at SW19.
