Boris Becker says what he 'hopes' Fabio Fognini does now after retiring from tennis at Wimbledon

Fabio Fognini waved goodbye to tennis at Wimbledon, playing one final match on Centre Court.

The Italian star had previously announced his intentions to retire from tennis in 2025, but hadn’t confirmed when his last match would be.

Drawn against Carlos Alcaraz in the first round at Wimbledon, Fognini proved he still had plenty left in the tank.

After five sets of thrilling entertainment, Fognini lost to Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2, 1-6, exiting Centre Court for the final time in his career.

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Deciding that was the perfect way to go out, Fognini announced his retirement at a press conference one week later.

Reacting to the 38-year-old’s retirement, Wimbledon legend Boris Becker shared what he hopes Fognini does now.

Boris Becker says he ‘hopes’ Fabio Fognini stays involved with tennis after retirement

During an interview with La Gazetta dello Sport, former world number one Becker shared his thoughts on the impact Fognini had on Italian tennis.

“Fabio [Fognini] was the first to break the curse of Italian tennis,” he said.

“After [Adriano] Panatta and [Paolo] Bertolucci, for years there hadn’t been a truly top player. He changed things.

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“Before [Matteo] Berrettini, before anyone else. He gave faith to so many young players: ‘If Fognini could do it, I can do it too.'”

After Adriano Panatta won the 1976 French Open, Italy were made to wait decades for another star to compete at the very top of the men’s game.

Breaking into the world’s top ten, Fognini became the first Italian to win a Masters 1000 title at the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Since then, several other Italian players have gone on to achieve great things in the sport, including Jannik Sinner, a three-time Grand Slam champion and current world number one.

Reflecting on Fognini’s final match, Becker revealed what he hopes the Italian does now as he retires from tennis.

“His farewell was beautiful, like a movie: [Carlos] Alcaraz as his opponent, the sun, his family in the stands. A well-deserved standing ovation,” he said.

“I hope he stays in tennis, teaching the younger players what it takes to win.”

Fognini’s experience could well be of use to his fellow Italian, who impressed Becker at SW19.

Boris Becker tells Flavio Cobolli what he must do now after impressive Wimbledon run

23-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli qualified for his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon, defeating Beibit Zhukayev, Jack Pinnington Jones, Jakub Mensik, and Marin Cilic en route to the last eight.

There, he met seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, and looked in good shape to cause an upset on Centre Court.

In a stunning turn of events, Cobolli took the first set of their quarterfinal in a tiebreaker 7-6 [8-6].

He was, however, unable to maintain his level, as Djokovic came through to beat Cobolli in four sets.

Reacting to the world number 24’s breakout performance, Becker shared his honest opinions on Cobolli.

“Excellent. He has personality, he’s talented, and he has a positive aura around him. A family that supports him,” he said.

“I put him on the same level as [Lorenzo] Musetti in terms of pure talent.”

Becker proceeded to tell Cobolli what he must do now to push on to better things on the ATP Tour.

“Now he has to build a structure around himself: the schedule, the professional lifestyle,” he said.

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“Technically, he has top-ten quality. But now the real work begins.”

Cobolli is one of six Italian players currently ranked inside the ATP top 50, as the nation continues to produce elite tennis talent.

Italian rank ATP Rank Name Age Points 1 1 Jannik Sinner 23 10,430 2 7 Lorenzo Musetti 23 4,140 3 24 Flavio Cobolli 23 2,035 4 35 Matteo Berrettini 29 1,515 5 43 Matteo Arnaldi 24 1,215 6 47 Lorenzo Sonego 30 1,171 Italian players ranked in the ATP top 50

Only time will tell if Cobolli can reach the same heights as Sinner and Musetti and break into the top ten, but it will certainly be something to look out for as the season progresses.

Cobolli is scheduled to return to action at the Washington Open, where he finished as runner-up in 2024.

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