Flavio Cobolli's Dad Stefano Is His Coach

AnonymousTravel2025-07-107810

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Flavio Cobolli competes in his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal today—and it just happens to be at Wimbledon against against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, who recorded his 100th win at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club all week.

None of this might have happened at all; as a teenager, Flavio wanted to be a soccer player. But the Italian tennis star, now ranked number 24 in the world, has tennis in his blood. Here, get to know Flavio’s parents Stefano and Francesca:

Meet Flavio Cobolli's dad, Stefano:

Stefano is also a former professional tennis player for Italy. He turned pro in 1995, and his best ranking was 236. In doubles, his career high was 340. He later started coaching at the Rome Tennis Academy, and has been Flavio’s coach since his son was 17.

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“My dad was a good player but he stopped when he was young, so he had a slightly lower ranking than me,” Cobolli told ATPTour.com in February. “When I was young, we wanted to keep tennis and our relationship separate. I used to play a lot of football and we would talk about that, but we didn’t talk about tennis. He wanted me to improve alone and then he said when I was ready he would help. We started a few years ago and we have put in a lot of work together since we started and last year was really good. We want to do more now.”

Stefano also generated a few headlines during the 2024 Paris Olympics amid a controversy over how many slots Italy could send to the men’s singles tournament, especially after Jannik Sinner's withdrawal due to tonsillitis. The rules stated each nation can bring their best four singles players, and there was a time limit about withdrawing. After the deadline, only players onsite (so a doubles player in Italy’s case) could enter, instead of bringing in the fifth best player, which would have been Flavio.

Stefano’s post on Instagram was characterized by some as a “dig” at Sinner: “Sinner canceled, I believe, on July 23 and therefore a few days after the deadline that would have allowed Flavio to take over. Again, everything is regular. I am certainly not the one to discuss or argue about whether the rules are right or wrong; nor about why Sinner passed the deadline: he must have had his reasons. My thoughts, instead, focus on Flavio.”

But at Wimbledon this year, Stefano was as much a father as a coach as he broke down in tears of happiness after Flavio’s win over Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the fourth round.

Meet Flavio Cobolli's mom, Francesca:

His mother shares the same name as an Italian actress, although they do not appear to be the same person based on information available on the ATP website and IMDB.

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That said, Francesca appears to be a very private person, especially compared to Flavio’s father. But Flavio has mentioned his mother in interviews. Whereas his father has been the athletic inspiration and motivation, his mother is his emotional refuge. In an interview with the ATP Tour last year, Flavio said he called her after watching another tennis player collapse on the court after suffering from cardiac arrest. “It was tough because I watched the game live. I was in front of my TV, and I froze immediately,” Cobolli told ATPTour.com. “When I watched that moment, I called my mom, crying, and she told me, ‘Flavio, stop there, I’ll come to you’, because it was tough for me.”