Flavio Cobolli Reveals the Gesture by Jannik Sinner That Moved Him

The countdown is on for Flavio Cobolli, who in a few days will make his debut at the ATP Finals for the first time in his career, as the world No. 6. The Roman tennis player will be the crowd favorite in Turin—now without Jannik Sinner—and hopes to make his mark. “My first goal for 2026—which I never stated out of superstition—was to break into the top 10. As a result, qualifying for the Finals could have been a natural next step. I’m ending the year at No. 6, a ranking I can still improve upon in Turin. I’m proud of that,” he told Corriere della Sera.

“At the start of this journey, I never would have imagined climbing this high. I’ve been bold, but I want to stay humble. In my conversations with my father, there’s always a lot of humility. Making it to the Finals means achieving something great—something difficult to handle. With this mindset, I’ll take the court in Turin and then in Bologna for the Davis Cup, if Volandri confirms my selection. 2026 has taught me a lot.”

In Vienna, there was a big scare over the injury, and then Sinner’s message arrived: “I got a nice message from Sinner when I got hurt in Vienna: ‘I love you,’ he wrote. Jannik isn’t in Turin, but it’s as if he were. And when he reaches out, it means a lot to me.”

Juan Carlos Ferrero as a possible coach: “We’ve always said that if Juan Carlos became available, we’d try to contact him. I was this close to sending him a text myself, but I never managed to send it. Juan Carlos Ferrero is the best coach in the world: asking him to coach me seemed like such a huge thing—too big, something meant for others… He’s like Ancelotti or Guardiola: he always helps his players improve.”