vivid ink: Flavio Cobolli

FLAVIO COBOLLI: FROM FLORENTINE PRODIGY TO WIMBLEDON QUARTER‑FINALIST

1. A QUICK “CIAO” FROM FLORENCE 🇮🇹

Flavio Cobolli was born on 6 May 2002 in Florence, the city of art, gelato, and—apparently—heavy topspin. His dad, Stefano Cobolli, a former pro who now coaches, first put a racquet in young Flavio’s hands on the local red‑clay courts. By 18 he had already lifted the 2020 Roland‑Garros boys’ doubles trophy, signalling that the Cobolli household might soon need a bigger trophy cabinet.

2. PAYING DUES ON THE CHALLENGER CIRCUIT

From 2021 to early 2024, Cobolli criss‑crossed Europe in the classic “Challenger grind”—sleepless trains, stringing his own racquets, and plenty of pasta pomodoro to keep costs down. Two things kept standing out:

Work ethic: He’s the player who takes an extra bucket of balls to serve practice once everyone else has packed up.
Two‑handed backhand: Compact, flat, and lethal down the line—often his bailout shot when rallies drag past the ten‑shot mark.

2021: ATP debut and first win, Two Challenger finals, Top 250 debut

He reached his maiden Challenger final at the 2021 Garden Open II in Rome, Italy where he lost to Juan Manuel Cerúndolo.

Cobolli won his first ATP match on his debut at the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma as a wildcard defeating World No. 92 Marcos Giron. As a result, he reached a new career-high of World No. 386 on 31 May 2021. In August he reached his second Challenger final in Barletta, Italy where he lost to compatriot Giulio Zeppieri. As a result, he entered the top 300 at No. 281 on 30 August 2021.

He reached the top 250 at No. 243 on 4 October 2021. He was named as alternate at the 2021 Next Generation ATP Final

2022: Maiden Challenger title, top 150 and Masters debuts

He reached a new career high in the top 200 on 10 January 2022 at No. 199. In March, he won his maiden Challenger title at the 2022 Zadar Open in Croatia. As a result, he reached the top 150 on 4 April 2022 at World No. 147.

Cobolli made his Masters main draw debut at the 2022 Rome Masters after receiving a wildcard into the singles and doubles main draws.

2023: Major debut and Maiden ATP quarterfinal, top 100

Cobolli qualified for the 2023 BMW Open and defeated Jordan Thompson in the first round and Oscar Otte in the second to reach his first ATP quarterfinal.[9] Cobolli qualified for the main draw at the Rome Masters after receiving a wildcard into the singles qualifying draw but was defeated by Arthur Rinderknech in the first round.[citation needed]

He made his Major debut at the 2023 French Open, defeating Mathys Erhard, Lukas Klein and Laurent Lokoli in qualifying. In the first round he faced World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz on Court Suzanne Lenglen and was defeated in straight sets.[citation needed]

He won his second Challenger title at the 2023 Lisboa Belém Open defeating Benjamin Hassan in the final.[10] He reached the top 100 after his fifth Challenger final in Olbia, Italy at world No. 95 on 23 October 2023. In November, he qualified for the 2023 Next Generation ATP Finals.[11][12] There, he defeated Dominic Stricker but lost to Arthur Fils and Luca Nardi and failed to progress to the semifinals.[citation needed]

2024: First Major & two Masters third rounds, First ATP final, top 30

of a Masters for the first time defeating two Chileans, Alejandro Tabilo and again 22nd seed Nicolás Jarry.[citation needed] As a result he moved into the top 60 of the rankings for the first time on 6 May 2024. At his home tournament, the Italian Open, he reached the second round with a win over Maximilian Marterer before losing to Sebastian Korda despite leading with a break in the third set.[citation needed] At the 2024 Geneva Open he reached his third ATP quarterfinal for the season with wins over Aslan Karatsev and fourth seed Ben Shelton in three sets.[21] He defeated Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets in the quarterfinals to reach his first ATP semifinal, where he lost to second seed and eventual champion Casper Ruud despite having match point.[citation needed] Following the 2024 French Open where he lost in the second round to Holger Rune in a fifth set tiebreak, he reached the top 50 on 10 June 2024.[citation needed]

At the beginning of the American hardcourt season in Washington, he reached his first ATP final defeating David Goffin, eight seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, saving 5 match points,[citation needed] 15th seed Alex Michelsen and second seed Ben Shelton,[citation needed] before losing to Korda again in the final. As a result he reached a new career high ranking of No. 33 on 5 August 2024.[22] The week after, he reached the second round at the 2024 National Bank Open in Montreal on his debut, with a win over 14th seed Félix Auger-Aliassime and moved to a new career-high ranking of world No. 31 on 12 August 2024.[citation needed] At his next tournament in Cincinnati Cobolli recorded the biggest win of his career thus far over 10th seed Tommy Paul, saving three match points.[23][24] He reached a second Masters third round defeating compatriot Luciano Darderi by retirement. There, he was defeated by fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz in three sets.[citation needed] At the US Open he reached the third round defeating James Duckworth and Zizou Bergs,[16] before losing to fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.[25]

Following the US Open, Cobolli was chosen for Italy's Davis Cup team in Bologna. In his first match representing Italy, he lost to Bergs in a rematch of their US Open match. In his second match, he scored his first Davis Cup win, defeating Tallon Griekspoor in three tight sets.[26] He represented Team Europe at the Laver Cup as first alternate. Following his participation in the exhibition tournament, Cobolli reached the top 30 on 30 September 2024.[27]

He began the Asian swing in Beijing where he played eight seed Alexander Bublik in the first round and won in a third set tiebreak, saving match point en route to victory.[citation needed] In the second round he faced Kotov for the third time this season and defeated him in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals. He lost to third seed Medvedev again, only managing to convert one of eleven break point opportunities.[28] At the Shanghai Masters he was seeded 28th and thus received a bye to the second round. There, he faced Stan Wawrinka, winning in three sets to set up a match against his idol Novak Djokovic,[29] where Cobolli was defeated in straight sets. His following tournament was in Vienna where he defeated Davidovich Fokina for the second time in the season,[30] before suffering an injury in the second round against Alex de Minaur.[31] This shoulder injury ended his season, as he did not play another match for the rest of the year.

2025: First ATP titles , top 20

Cobolli had a slow start to his 2025 season. Representing Italy at the 2025 United Cup he reached the Quarter-Finals, earning a comeback top 20 win over Ugo Humbert, saving match point. However, in the Quarter-Finals he was routinely defeated by Tomas Machac. At his next tournament in Auckland he retired in his opening match to Luca Nardi citing a thigh injury. In the first round of the Australian Open, he lost to Tomás Etcheverry in four sets, marking his first Grand Slam loss to a player ranked outside the top 20.[32]

Cobolli's February didn't fare much better with opening round losses to de Jong in Montpellier, Hurkacz in Rotterdam and Shelton in Acapulco. At the BNP Paribas Open he was defeated in three sets by American qualifier Colton Smith.

This run of seven consecutive defeats marked Cobolli's longest losing streak as a professional. In an effort to turn his form around, Cobolli entered the Phoenix Challenger, as the 2nd seed. There, he earned his first win since December over Eliot Spizzirri in a tight three-set match, finally ending his losing streak. The following week, returning to the ATP Tour in Miami, he was defeated in the opening round by the Argentinian Thiago Agustín Tirante from a break up in the third set.

Lacking form and confidence, and with a win-loss record of 1–8 for the season, Cobolli arrived at the Țiriac Open in Bucharest as the third seed. There, with wins over Richard Gasquet, Filip Misolic and Damir Džumhur he reached his second ATP Final and first on clay. He then defeated first seed Sebastián Báez to win the first ATP title of his career in an epic performance. Following up on his success in Bucharest, he won his opening match at the Monte-Carlo Masters over veteran Dušan Lajović before falling to in-form Frenchman Arthur Fils.

Cobolli's next tournament was in Munich where he fell in the opening round to Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko. Next he played in Madrid, missing out on a seeding spot by one place. There, he earned a strong straight sets win over Fábián Marozsán before beating 8th seed Holger Rune who was forced to retire after losing the first set, to reach the third round. This win marked Cobolli's 50th on the ATP Tour and his first victory over a top 10 player. At his home tournament in Rome, Flavio was defeated in his first round match against fellow Italian Nardi. After the match he lamented not having had the chance to prove himself on the centre court, instead being scheduled to play on smaller, emptier courts

Again, lacking confidence and wins, Cobolli arrived in Hamburg for his final tournament before the French Open. After a slow start against Vitaliy Sachko in the opening round, he turned the match around to win in three sets. In the following round he defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for the third time in three meetings to reach his second Quarter-Final of the season. With victories over Roberto Bautista Agut and Etcheverry, against the latter coming back from 2–6, 1–3 down to win, he reached his third career ATP Final and second at ATP 500 level. In the final he faced former world no.5 and former champion Andrey Rublev. He played the best match of his career, beating Rublev 6–2, 6–4 to win the biggest title of his career so far and reach a new career high ranking of no.26

3. 2025: THE YEAR IT ALL CLICKED ✨

Romanian Open (April) – Cobolli captured his maiden ATP title in Bucharest, saving two match points in the semi‑final.
Hamburg Open (June) – Back‑to‑back clay‑court brilliance: a second trophy and a career‑high ranking of No. 24 on 16 June 2025 (en.wikipedia.org)
Wimbledon (July) – The real headline. Flavio mowed through Britain’s drizzle (and Marin Čilić in four tight sets) to reach the quarter‑finals, earning a Centre‑Court date with Novak Djokovic and a projected leap inside the Top 20 for the first time (thesun.co.uk, tennis.com).

4. HOW DOES HE PLAY?

Footwork first: A clay upbringing means he slides even on grass.
Forehand grip: Semi‑western, producing an explosive, whippy forehand that sets up inside‑out winners.
Serve: Not a cannon (averages 195 km/h) but placed with variety—wide slice on deuce, up‑the‑T on ad.
Temperament: Think Jannik Sinner’s calm with a dash of Fabio Fognini’s flair—he fist‑pumps but rarely smashes racquets.

5. OFF‑COURT SNAPSHOT 📸

Residence: Rome (he shares an apartment with fellow Italians Luca Nardi and Giulio Zeppieri—hello, homemade carbonara nights).
Team Cobolli: Father‑coach Stefano plus mental trainer Giulia Rossi.
Support circle: Long‑time girlfriend Matilde Galli, a Milan‑based law‑firm associate who’s become a familiar face in player‑box camera pans.
Personality: Self‑deprecating on social, loves rock‑climbing between tournaments, and admits he still gets star‑struck seeing Rafael Nadal in the locker room.

6. WHAT’S NEXT? 🔮

If the ranking math holds, Cobolli should officially crack ATP Top 20 on 15 July 2025 when Wimbledon points drop. That would make him the third Italian inside the elite twenty (behind Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti). Hard courts have historically been his trickiest surface, but a deep US‑summer swing could push him towards Turin’s ATP Finals conversation.

7. FINAL THOUGHTS (AND A LITTLE GUT FEELING)

Flavio Cobolli’s ascent isn’t a bolt from the blue; it’s the payoff of five years on the margins, plus a mentality that shouts, “Why not me?” Watching him walk onto Centre Court tomorrow against Djokovic, you can’t help but feel Italian tennis’s renaissance is still gathering steam.

So next time you scroll through match alerts and see “Cobolli d. [Top‑10 seed]”—don’t be surprised. You read it here first.

vivid ink

Wednesday, 9 July 2025

Flavio Cobolli