Flavio Cobolli will soon get his very first ATP Finals campaign underway in front of a home crowd in Turin.
Cobolli is one of four debutants at the year-end event, along with Rafael Jodar, Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fils. The 24-year-old Italian took his career to new heights this season by reaching his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.
After knocking out fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cobolli advanced to the championship match of the clay-court major, where he took Alexander Zverev to five sets, but ultimately came up short. Cobolli then went on to make the quarterfinals of Wimbledon and his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal in Cincinnati.
Jannik Sinner’s message to Flavio Cobolli after Vienna injury
Cobolli’s place in the ATP Finals lineup was officially confirmed after developments at the Paris Masters, but there was some concern he was not going to make it after getting injured at the Vienna Open. During his round-of-16 match with compatriot Matteo Berrettini, Cobolli suffered a muscle strain and was forced to retire from the bout.
Cobolli left the court in tears, knowing his ATP Finals chances were now in jeopardy were he not to compete at the Paris Masters. Cobolli ultimately did not feature in Paris, but qualified for Turin anyway due to those behind him in the race tripping up.
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As per journalist Jose Morgado on X, formerly known as Twitter, Cobolli was sent a message by fellow Italian Jannik Sinner after his retirement in Vienna. He said: “I received a very affectionate message from him when I got injured: ‘I love you.’ Jannik isn’t in Turin, but it’s almost as if he were. And whenever he gets in touch with me, it means a lot to me.”
Sinner would have qualified for the ATP Finals this year and would have been bidding to win the tournament for the third year in a row. But the five-time Grand Slam champion had to shut his season down early due to a knee injury he has been dealing with since the Wimbledon final.
Sinner’s absence means his rival, Carlos Alcaraz, now has a great chance to win the ATP Finals for the first time in his career. Alcaraz’s main competition comes in the form of Zverev, who is a two-time champion at the ATP Finals.
Cobolli has been placed in the Ivan Lendl group at the ATP Finals, which consists of Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Tiafoe. The John McEnroe group features Fils, Ben Shelton, Zverev and Jodar.
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