"Two hours feel like 20 minutes": Flavio Cobolli soaks up experience training with Alcaraz in Murcia

Flavio Cobolli traveled to Murcia last week to join Carlos Alcaraz’s off-season training. The Italian joined the World No. 1 during the final week—precisely when the news broke regarding Alcaraz’s split with his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The 23-year-old Italian had the opportunity to join Alcaraz during the last week, and they were seen together in several photos and videos on social media alongside their respective teams. "The two hours of training with Alcaraz feel like 20 minutes to me; when you do them with another player, they feel like two hours," he commented in an interview with TG1. "Obviously, he is giving me a lot of tips, and even if he doesn't say them out loud, I learn them."

Cobolli finished the season as World No. 22, having secured two titles at the Hamburg Open (ATP 500) and Bucharest (ATP 250). Cobolli was the hero of the Davis Cup Finals for Italy after taking over as his country's No. 1 singles player in the absence of Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.

The 23-year-old star exceeded expectations in Bologna: he defeated Filip Misolic (6-1, 6-3), Zizou Bergs (6-3, 6-7[5-7], 7-6 [17-15]), and Jaume Munar in the final (7-6(2), 7-6(5)). He secured all three points for Italy, achieving victory in every round without his team needing to play a deciding doubles match.

The end of the year showed that Cobolli can take a step forward on the tour, and he will look to establish himself at the top of the rankings in next season. "What do I need to improve in 2026? My team believes: everything. I consider myself very strong in some areas, but I know I have a lot of margin for improvement and many things I must improve."

Cobolli reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2025—his best performance at a Grand Slam—before being eliminated by 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in four sets.

The leader of the Italian Davis Cup team at the Finals acknowledged in his interview that he still feels far from reaching the level of 4-time major champion Sinner: "In life, you also have to be a little realistic," he commented during the interview. "I try, I work every day to get to where he is, but I recognize that right now he is very far from me."

Cobolli has marked his first challenge of the season: a new appearance at the United Cup starting on January 2, joining Jasmine Paolini just as he did at the start of 2025. In the previous edition, Cobolli delivered in the Round Robin—beating Switzerland's Dominic Stricker and France's Ugo Humbert in his singles duels, advancing to the quarterfinals. However, they were eliminated by the Czech Republic after Muchova beat Paolini and Machac did the same to Cobolli.

This time, the Italians will face Switzerland and France again, but with new protagonists. On the first day of competition in Perth—January 4—Cobolli will challenge 3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, while Paolini will face former World No. 4 Belinda Bencic.

On the second matchday—January 6—Cobolli will face 2025 Shanghai Masters runner-up Arthur Rinderknech, while the second match will be between Paolini and Roland Garros semifinalist Lois Boisson.