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Flavio Cobolli sparked major concern when he started sobbing in the middle of his match at the recent Vienna Open before retiring. The world No. 6 was 2-5 down to his good friend, Matteo Berrettini, when he suddenly burst into tears during a changeover. Berrettini rushed over to check on his opponent and, in emotional scenes, embraced Cobolli as he cried and retired from the match. The Italian later pulled out of the Paris Masters as a precaution, but is set to make his ATP Finals debut next week after a stellar season that saw him reach the French Open final and crack the top 10.
Cobolli is the only Italian in the eight-man singles field this year, as Jannik Sinner was forced to end his 2026 season early with a knee injury. But Sinner has still been keeping an eye on his countrymen’s results on the tour, and saw the worrying scenes in Vienna as Cobolli three in the towel after seven games and left the court in tears.
And this year’s Roland Garros runner-up has now revealed that Sinner reached out to him after that match with a special message. “I got a nice message when I got hurt in Vienna, ‘Ti voglio bene’ he wrote,” Cobolli told Corriere. Ti voglio bene translates to I love you.
While Cobolli will be flying the Italian flag alone at the ATP Finals, he knows he has Sinner’s full support, adding: “Jannik isn't in Turin, but it's as if he were. And when he gets in touch, it means a lot to me.”
After retiring in Vienna late last month, the 24-year-old released a statement confirming that he was dealing with a minor physical problem and didn’t want to risk anything. “Vienna, I’m sorry to leave like this. I love this tournament and was really looking forward to facing Matteo with all of you in the stands,” Cobolli wrote.
“I felt something during my match the other night, but I wanted to give it a go. Today I realised I couldn’t keep doing without pushing it too far, so I had to stop. Those tears weren’t from pain. Just emotion, maybe a little stress, and the disappointment of having to leave the court when all I wanted was to stay out there.”
He then headed to the Paris Masters, where he hoped to compete, but withdrew before his opening match and said he was still feeling some discomfort. Now, Cobolli has explained that, although he broke down in tears in Vienna, things weren’t as bad as they looked.
“I know, the TV feared the worst, I understand. But they were emotional tears, not tears of pain. The truth is, I shouldn't have taken the court, I did it more for Matteo than for myself. I wasn't feeling well, I couldn't give anything in that match,” the three-time title winner said.
“But that's just me, the pressure builds and I keep it all inside, I struggle to let my emotions out, even with those closest to me. On the court, where I feel like myself, I let myself go and cried.”
Cobolli is now set to return on home soil at the ATP Finals, where he has been drawn in the Ivan Lendl Group alongside Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Frances Tiafoe. The world No. 6 will play three round-robin matches to try to advance from the group stage to the semi-finals.
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