Flavio Cobolli has a problem: he seems nice even when he loses. Maybe it’s the way he smiles after a gratuitous mistake. Maybe it’s that laugh with which he says he often argues with his father in training, immediately adding – “unfortunately he’s always right”. Maybe it’s the fact that when they ask him what it’s like to have his dad as a coach, he replies: “I can’t say, I’m on TV.” In a circuit where many athletes speak in press releases, Cobolli speaks like a normal boy speaks. And this is probably his biggest secret — more than forehands, more than comebacks, more than three ATP titles.
Now he is in the semifinals at Roland Garros 2026. First time in his career, first all-Italian derby in a Slam semifinal in history. Before we see how it ends, it’s worth actually getting to know it. Because the story of Cobbo, as everyone calls him, has some details you don’t expect.
He was born in Florence but is Roman to the core
Born in Florence on 6 May 2002, he settled in Subiaco with his family at the age of one. Technically Florentine by birth. Practically Roman in everything else: his favorite team, his accent, his friendships, his neighborhood. One of the many nice contradictions of a guy who doesn’t take himself too seriously.
His father came to the hospital wearing Totti’s shirt
“When I was born, dad came to the hospital wearing Francesco Totti’s shirt,” Flavio told Che tempo che fa. The father, a former tennis player and Giallorossi fan, wears the Captain’s shirt to welcome his son. From then on, he was marked.
He started with a racket and a Totti shirt
A racket and a Francesco Totti t-shirt received as a gift led him first towards tennis, then towards football. Two objects, two roads. For years he explored both, unable to choose. In the end he won the racket — but Totti stayed.
He played for Roma’s youth team as a full-back
It’s not a living room passion. Until the age of 13 he also played football alongside the racket, going so far as to play in the Roma youth team in the role of full-back under the supervision of Bruno Conti. Bruno Conti. World champion. In the end he chose tennis because it gave him stronger emotions. Roman fans may not forgive him for this choice.
He is coached by his father (and they often fight)
His father Stefano, a former professional tennis player, has guided him since the beginning. A relationship that Flavio described with the usual irony: «We often argue, unfortunately he is always right. It’s a difficult relationship, but we’re working on it.” Said laughing. But anyone who has had a parent-coach knows exactly what he’s talking about.
He has a brother named Guglielmo
He has a brother, Guglielmo. He was in the stands in Bologna, with his father, during that endless tie-break with Bergs. At times, tennis truly is a family sport.
His tennis idol is Djokovic
His favorite tennis player is Novak Djokovic. Not Federer, not Nadal — Djokovic. The most combative, the most mentally tough, the least loved by the neutral public. Is this a coincidence with Cobbo’s character? Probably not.
He started playing tennis at three years old at Parioli
He began playing tennis at the age of three at the Parioli Tennis Club. One of the most historic and noble clubs in Rome. At three years old. While most children think of Lego, he already had a racket in his hand and a former tennis player father watching him.
He won the junior doubles at Roland Garros 2020
One of the least cited passages in its history. He won the junior doubles title at Roland Garros 2020, partnering Swiss Dominic Stricker. Paris knows him well. He has already raised a trophy for us — albeit in a very different context than today.
He turned professional in 2017, at fifteen
He made his professional debut in 2017 on the ITF circuit. Fifteen years, the international circuit, the long road ahead. From that moment on: Futures, Challengers, Slam qualifiers, defeats, restarts. The normal path of those who have no shortcuts.
He has three ATP titles, including two 500s
He has won three major circuit titles, including two ATP 500s. Bucharest 2025, Hamburg 2025, Acapulco 2026. Not consolation titles: the ATP 500s are heavy tournaments. The leap in quality between 2024 and 2026 was clear, and these three trophies are the most concrete proof of this.
His best ranking is number 12
The best placing in the ATP ranking is 12th place, achieved on May 4, 2026. Top 15 on the eve of Roland Garros. With the semi-final in hand, the top 10 is now a real goal, no longer a projection.
He beat Zverev to reach a final
Among the victories that tell of his growth, one is worth more than the others. He beat world number three Zverev to reach the Munich 2026 final. Beating the world number three is not luck. It’s level.
In the 2025 Davis Cup he was the first singles player
In 2025 he was part of the Italian national team champion in Bologna, winning all the singles played including the final against Spain. Not as a supporting role: as the first singles player, together with Berrettini. Italy has never had to resort to doubles, and the credit is also – very much – theirs.
The tie-break with Bergs is among the six longest in Davis history
Bologna, semifinal, second set. The tie-break with Bergs ended 17-15 in 27 minutes, with seven match points for the Belgian and five for the Italian. It ranks sixth among the longest tiebreakers in the 100-year history of the Davis Cup. Cobolli saved seven match points. Seven. And he won anyway.
Berrettini is like an older brother to him
The bond between the two Romans of Italian tennis is not just team-based. «We grew up together with Matteo, my dad was his coach. For me he is like an older brother, I have always been able to count on him.” And when Berrettini retired in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros 2026, that victory must have had a strange effect on him.
His best friends are a footballer and a MotoGP rider
The company one chooses says a lot about a person. In the heart of Cobolli there are Edoardo Bove, with whom the relationship became even closer after the illness that struck the footballer, and Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 rider in the world championship. Three young athletes, three different sports, the same generation that is writing something beautiful in Italian sport.
His girlfriend is called Matilde and doesn’t like social media
Cobolli has been linked to Matilde Galli for about four years. The couple maintains a low profile and away from the spotlight: she has a private Instagram profile and rarely appears on the tennis player’s social networks. In a circuit where tennis players’ girlfriends are often public figures in all respects, Matilde has chosen the opposite path. And he seems to appreciate it.
He won the Roland Garros junior doubles (and is now in the semi-finals as a senior)
He won the junior doubles title at Roland Garros 2020. Six years later, he is in the semi-finals in singles at the same tournament. Paris knows him. And it seems to reciprocate.
He is the sixth Italian in the semifinals at Roland Garros in the Open Era
He is the sixth Italian semi-finalist in the men’s singles at Roland Garros in the Open Era, after Panatta, Cecchinato, Sinner and Musetti. Names that weigh. A list that until a few years ago seemed closed forever, and which instead continues to update.
+1. Something that has nothing to do with tennis
On the official ATP website, in the biographical section, between favorite surface and favorite tournament, there is a line that many skip. Flavio Cobolli’s favorite food is lasagna. Roman, Romanist, son of a former tennis player, friend of a footballer and a MotoGP rider. And when he can choose what to eat, he chooses lasagna. Some things don’t need explanations.
