Flavio Cobolli Reveals Turning Point of the 2026 Season After Reaching Wimbledon Quarterfinals

Flavio Cobolli earned his place in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Championships for the second consecutive season. The Italian star produced an impressive performance to beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur in straight sets on Monday (July 6), making him the second Italian man after Jannik Sinner to reach the last eight at the All England Club this year.

Cobolli didn’t have one of the best starts of this year. The World No. 10 didn’t win a singles match for almost two months, losing in the first round of the Australian Open, Montpellier Open, and Dallas Open. It was at the Delray Beach Open that things began to click for the Italian man, reaching the semi-finals before losing to Sebastian Korda.

The 24-year-old got better on the court at the Acapulco Open, defeating Frances Tiafoe to win his first title of the season. After that run, he reached the final of the Munich Open, losing to Ben Shelton, and continued to produce more consistent performances on the court. At the French Open last month, he reached his maiden Grand Slam final.

It was Alexander Zverev who stopped him from winning the championship despite pushing their match to five sets. He continued with his impressive major tournament form in Wimbledon, reaching his second consecutive quarter-finals in SW19 after beating De Minaur 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 in south-west London.

After winning the match, he hit the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo celebration on the court and dubbed the UEFA European champion to win their match against Spain at the FIFA World Cup on Monday (July 6). Speaking after the win against De Minaur, Cobolli revealed the moment things began to get better for him on the court this season after a horrible start:

Everyone was talking about the season, where I had to improve, and so on. It wasn’t easy to find the right way to play really calmly and just play tennis. In the end, I hoped for a good result that might change something. And it did. In Acapulco, I was very happy with my level. I found a way to stay at that level. From there, I believe I played good tennis throughout the week. Sometimes I’m tired… So now I have to find the best solution to always give my 100% on the court.

Cobolli reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon last year but couldn’t get past seven-time champion Novak Djokovic. Though he played impressive tennis, winning one set, it was not enough against the Serbian legend. Fast forward to today, the Italian star has better experience on tour, and he will be aiming to reach his first grass-court major semi-finals.

Flavio Cobolli admits there’s nothing to improve in his game after securing a quarter-final place at Wimbledon

Flavio Cobolli lost in straight sets to Terra Wortmann Open champion Frances Tiafoe in his opening match. He didn’t feature in any tour-level grass-court match again and wasn’t sure he would reach the latter stages of Wimbledon. In fact, he revealed after beating Alex de Minaur that his grandfather came to his rescue to find a house for him to start in after extending his stay in London.

Cobolli is the third Italian player to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, with Jasmine Paolini already sealing her place after a win against Alexandra Eala. During the aforementioned press conference, Cobolli admitted that there’s nothing to improve in his game, having gotten better in his performance on the court:

I’m very pleased with all my shots. Well, the serve, that can always improve for me. But today, I also found a way to make it difficult for him in returning. It wasn’t easy to figure out how to have a good return with my serve. I always change something during the game. So, actually, I’m also happy with the serve. But regarding the other shots, I think there’s nothing to improve.

Cobolli will face Arthur Fery in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. Fery, who defeated Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov to reach the last eight, has been impressive at the All England Club. Also, Fery stunned Cobolli in the first round of the Australian Open in January. The Italian star will be seeking revenge on the Center Court on Wednesday (July 8).

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