Arthur Fery invites Prince George and Princess Charlotte to play tennis

News imagePA The Princess of Wales, wearing an olive green dress, shakes Arthur Fery hand.PA
The Princess of Wales meeting semi-finalist Arthur Fery at Wimbledon

British Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery has invited Prince George and Princess Charlotte to play tennis with him, after meeting the royals at the men's single's final.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with Charlotte and George, arrived at the All England Club shortly after 15:00 BST on Sunday, receiving a standing ovation as they entered the royal box.

Fery, who turned 24 on Sunday, said: "I know the whole family are all tennis fans, so I told her if her kids ever wanted to hit, I'm free."

Prince William and Catherine congratulated the tennis player on his run to the semi-finals and wished him a happy birthday.

News imagePA Britain's Arthur Fery in action during his semi final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev.PA
Britain's Arthur Fery lost to Alexander Zverev in the men's single's semi-finals

Fery also received a birthday card from the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Speaking after their interaction, he expressed appreciation for Catherine's attendance and said it was "good to meet her finally".

"She wished me good luck for the rest of the year and congratulated me for these two weeks."

Asked whether he thinks she will take him up on the offer of playing tennis with George and Charlotte, Fery said: "Let's see, I don't know. Let's see if I get the call up."

Lord Frederick Windsor, his wife Sophie Winkleman, and Lady Gabriella Kingston were among the other members of the royal family watching the men's single final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev on Centre Court.

They joined Australian actress Nicole Kidman, American actor Rami Malek, British singer Raye, and former world number one Stan Smith.

After Sinner won the championship for the second year in a row, Kate, who is patron of the All England Club, presented the trophy to him.

Fery, who arrived at the Championships as the world number 114 and had never advanced beyond the second round of a Grand Slam, defied all expectations to reach the semi-finals.

He will be confirmed as the new British number one and will rise to 36th in the world rankings on Monday, as well as taking home £900,000 in prize money.