Flavio Cobolli - From the AS Roma football field to the hope of Italian tennis

was born in Florence and trained by his father - Mr. Stefano, a former professional player who was ranked 236th in the world, Cobolli started the tennis journey early. There, they were blocked by Carlos Alcaraz and Spain. At the age of 18, Cobolli won the young couple French Open 2020.

Cobolli's professional tennis career started in 2021, with the first ITF M15 title in Antalya, Türkiye. In May, he launched ATP at the 250th tournament in Parma. In 2022, many surprises, when Cobolli first passed the first qualifying round of the Grand Slam (Australia) and won the first Challenger title at Roseto Degli Abrizzi, squeezed into the top 200 in the world. Coming to Roland Garros, he had a suffocating match with Holger Rune. Leading 5-0 in the tie-break series in the decision set, Cobolli let Rune come back with a powerful hand to change the situation in the last minutes. It became one of the most memorable matches in the tournament. The two met more than a decade ago, when Cobolli won Alcaraz in a double battle. Alcaraz still impressed his peers. "He has a qualification to reach out," Alcaraz said at a press conference in Paris. "I am really happy with what Cobolli is achieving recently. I am quite sure he will continue to build his path and become an excellent player ".

With a height of 1.83 m, Cobolli is more technical than power. He is also more suitable for the ground, where it is even like a "gladiator" with the most powerful weapon is the relentless fighting spirit and the smart game. "He has very skillful hands, good shadow ", Alcaraz commented. "What he has difficulty chooses the right shot at the right time. Perhaps he is a bit unstable, sometimes like me". He played regularly in the right defender and once scored in a derby in the young tournament when he was 11 years old. "I am a defender running a lot, but I'm afraid of collisions. I always leave the field with a clean outfit ", he recalls. "I don't like playing with a team," he said. "I like to play alone. I like to be alone in life. I don't want to lose for others. I want to win for myself. When I am in a team, everything is different ".

However, love with AS Roma is still burning. He always sought to go to Roma to cheer whenever he could and watch the team enthusiastically when touring, often prioritizing watching football than tennis. He did not plan in advance; It was just an emotion that broke out in a moment. Cobolla also followed the team to Tirana in the Conference League final 2022.

He also had a tattoo on his chest with the words Italy: "Sei tu l’Asica Mia Sposa, Sei Tu L’Nico Mio Amor ", quoted from the captain of the legendary captain Daniele de Rossi, referred to the love of the color of the Rome. "De Rossi is an idol outside my tennis yard," Cobolli said.

Cobolli has still kept a close friendship with the players who have also grown up from AS Roma like Edoardo Bove - the brother who acquainted from 7 years old and currently plays for Fiorentina, or like Riccardo Calafiori - Romantic defender moves to Arsenal from Bologna last summer. "I have a message to congratulate Calafiori when he switched to Arsenal ", Cobolli shared. "He is a lovely friend - very simple. We used to be in the Roma furnace, he was good at his feet, and I was clever with his hands. I always believe he is a special player and will definitely succeed with Arsenal. "When I witnessed that moment, I called my mother, cried, and my mother said, 'Flavio, stop, I will come to her.' " Luckily, Bove recovered and even brought a surprise to his friend when appearing to cheer Cobolli in the Hamburg Final. "He was healthy and happy again, I hope he will come back to the pitch," Cobolli said.

in 2025 marked an important milestone in Cobolli's career with two ATP titles. First, he took the throne at the tournament on the ATP 250 Bucharest in April, surpassing Sebastian Baez (Argentina) in the final with a score of 6-4, 6-4, winning the first ATP title in his career. This victory marks the 100th ATP title of Italy in the opening era. It can be considered a unexpected victory, especially after a series of eight consecutive defeats from the beginning of 2025.

Next is ATP 500 Hamburg right in May. Cobolli shocked when defeating the former 5th world of Andrey Rubleev in two white sets (6-2, 6-4) in the final. In the most important match of his career so far, he saved all five Break Point points, becoming the fourth Italian player to win this championship, after Paolo Bertolucci, Fabio Fognini, and Lorenzo Musetti.

These victories helped Cobolli reach from the top 100 world in 2024 to the 26th to 26th. At the beginning of 2025, at a time he went through a series of frustrated defeats, including eliminated in the first round of Italy expanded and lost in the quarterfinals of a Challenger held in Turin.. But it was these challenges that have honed the patience and concentration of the young tennis player. The boy from Rome showed confidence and techniques in the match against the player who had won the US championship 2014. In the second round today, Cobolli will confront Matteo Arnaldi. In an interview at Roland Garros on Sunday, the 23 -year -old shared that he felt "a bit confused" when talking about the feeling of winning a big title and immediately entered another tournament. He talked so gently that he sometimes leaned close to hear clearly.