Flavio Cobolli was a defender in the AS Roma youth academy before tennis won him over in his early teens, and something of the footballer still shows on court: the sprint, the fist, the full-volume celebration. He plays with his heart on his sleeve, a heavy-hitting baseliner who feeds off a crowd and rarely hides what he feels. His father Stefano, a former tour pro, is also his coach, and the pairing has pushed a talented junior into a genuine force on the men's game.
The breakthrough came in 2025. Cobolli lifted his first ATP titles in Bucharest and Hamburg, then reached his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon, where Novak Djokovic stopped him in four sets. The following June he went deeper still, reaching his first major final at Roland Garros and pushing Alexander Zverev through five sets, level after taking the fourth in a tiebreak before the German ran away with the decider. That fortnight carried him to a career high inside the world's top 10. Across his career so far he has claimed 3, and the best chapters look far from written.
Four. That is how many match points Lorenzo Musetti saved against Flavio Cobolli in the Lyon semifinal, a set down, before he beat Taylor Fritz 6-3 6-4 in the final on Sunday for his third career tour title and his first since 2022.
Match taleThirteen. That is where Alejandro Davidovich Fokina now stands in the ATP rankings, up 13 places from 26, a career high one place past his old best of 14 and an entry into the top 20.
Ranking tale