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Italian tennis has thrived in 2026, and it isn’t all down to just Jannik Sinner.
Six Italians are placed inside the top 50 in the ATP rankings, with two ranked in the top 10. After Sinner, the second-highest-ranked countryman is Flavio Cobolli, the current world number six, who is closing in on an ATP Finals debut after recording his best-ever season on the tour.
Cobolli reached his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros earlier this season and secured the third title of his career in Acapulco. Now, he is fourth in the race for the ATP Finals, where he could play in front of a home crowd in Turin.
“It is a dream for me,” said Cobolli speaking to ATPTour.com about the prospect of playing in Turin. “It is like a Grand Slam, I didn’t think about Turin before, but now I am well placed in the Race and I am one of the potential players in Turin, and we have [a few] more tournaments and I have to play as many matches as possible to reach this goal.
“I don’t want to think about the goal but I do want to think about how fun it would be to play there. It would be very special to play there. I think I rate my season really well. I did a great year to this point. I have many goals I want to achieve this year, like Turin. I didn’t start well, like last year, but I think the middle of the season with clay and grass was amazing for me, so I am really happy.
“Roland Garros was special. I didn’t imagine I would reach the final of that Grand Slam. But when you are there you are trying your best to win the title. I tried but I played against an amazing player, who deserved it more than me at that point.
“I was happy at the end of the match. Now when I see the match again, it is very painful but still something nothing I will ever forget. I was lucky to play that match. The work outside the court is important. I think I changed a lot of things this year with the team.
“I was more on court practicing and having fun. I started to listen a bit more to my team during practice and I think that has worked. I am lucky I have these kinds of people behind me. They really love me and want to stay with me and I feel all the love when I am with them. It is very helpful for my game.”
Cobolli would have been fifth in the ATP Finals race, but with Sinner ending his season early due to a knee injury, the 24-year-old has been bumped up to fourth. Ahead of him are his Roland Garros conqueror Alexander Zverev, as well as Carlos Alcaraz and Ben Shelton, all of whom are qualified.
Daniil Medvedev, Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Fils and Rafael Jodar currently occupy the last four qualification spots. But Alex de Minaur, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul are all pushing for a ticket to Turin.
As it stands, Cobolli will be the only home hope playing in front of the Italian crowd at the ATP Final.