Flavio Cobolli Reaches First Wimbledon Quarterfinal

A Career Milestone on Grass

Thanks to his Wimbledon run, Cobolli is now set to make his debut inside the ATP Top 20 — a significant milestone for a player whose 2025 season started inauspiciously. After two wins at the United Cup, he suffered eight consecutive losses. Still, there was no need to panic as there was a reason behind it: an off-season injury had disrupted his training schedule, and he had to skip a planned training block with his close friend Carlos Alcaraz at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s Academy in Spain.

Cobolli turned things around in Bucharest, where he won his maiden ATP title. Just a few months later, he claimed another trophy in Hamburg, defeating ATP 500 mainstay Andrey Rublev in the final — a victory that helped spark his confidence heading into the grass season.

Before Wimbledon, Cobolli played two warm-up events. In Halle, he reached the quarterfinals by edging out João Fonseca and Denis Shapovalov in final-set tie-breaks, before falling to Alexander Zverev. In Eastbourne, however, fatigue caught up with him, and he suffered an early exit against British player Jacob Fearnley. Still, he carried the momentum from his earlier matches into Wimbledon.

Ironically, grass — once his least favorite surface — has played a key role in his story. Before dedicating himself to tennis, Cobolli was a talented soccer player, even representing AS Roma’s youth academy as a right-back. Eventually, he had to choose between the two sports, and tennis won.

A Moment He’ll Never Forget

Tennis runs deep in the Cobolli family. His father Stefano, who is also his coach, was a professional player himself. In a poetic twist, both father and son have faced Stan Wawrinka — 21 years apart. Stefano’s highest ranking was No. 236, and his son reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals clearly struck an emotional chord. As Flavio achieved what his father never could, emotions ran high.

His brother Guglielmo also shed tears after the match, and one of his closest friends, footballer Edoardo Bove — who suffered a heart attack last fall and he’s waiting for the green light to come back on the pitch — was there to support him in person, giving Flavio a heartfelt hug after the win.

In his post-match interview, Cobolli let the emotion flow:

“I have always dreamed to be here, to play this tournament. You cannot imagine my emotion right now. I started playing tennis to play these kind of matches. I’m proud of myself and my team. I have all my family is here, so it’s very special — my dad is crying and my brother also… my big friend is here too. It’s a moment I will never forget.”