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 US Open titles Novak Djokovic has already won, and the draw made on 27 August 2026 puts him on course to meet Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion who also won the title in 2022, in the semi-final. Both are seeded in the same half of the 128-player field; play starts on 30 August.
Draw taleEleven. That is where Arthur Fils sits in the ATP rankings now, one place outside the world's top ten, after a run to the Cincinnati title carried the 22 year old up from No. 21 and into the top 20. It is a career best for Fils, and it makes him the only Frenchman in that group.
Ranking tale