G’day,
The first time Flavio Cobolli came onto my radar was at the Parma ATP250 clay court event in May, 2021. I was actually working remotely from Austin, TX, providing game plans and match analysis for Jan-Lennard Struff and his coach, Carsten Arriens.
Cobolli (19yo) was ranked #429 and notched up his first Top 100 win in the opening round against #82 Marcos Giron, 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6 (4). I had to analyze this long match, and three things really stood out to me.
- He was determined to control the Ad court with his run-around forehand.
- His incredible fighting spirit and desire to run down every ball possible.
- Ad Court = He stood very wide to serve to open up angles by hitting a heavy kick 1st serve out wide (and up high) to his opponent’s backhand return. This serve almost always came back cross to feed his Serve +1 run-around forehand and was a big reason why he defeated Giron.
I highlighted Cobolli’s extreme Ad court position in the pre-match strategy for Carsten and Jan-Lennard, and even though Jan knew where it was going, and stood wider accordingly, it was extremely difficult to counter. Jan won a very close encounter 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2). What struck me was that Cobolli clearly telegraphed his intentions by standing so wide in the Ad court to serve, but his serve had that much action on it that it was really hard for Jan to diffuse the tactic.
Which leads us to Wimbledon this year, where Cobolli reached the quarter-finals. He was at it again.
2026 Wimbledon: Cobolli 1st Serve Contact Point
IMPROVE YOUR FIRST SERVE
Webinar 3: Serve Strategy And Patterns
Webinar 61: Improve Your Serve Accuracy
Webinar 34: The 8 Serve Locations
Look at the Wimbledon graphic above, outlining Cobolli’s point of contact on his first serve. These first serves stretch almost all the way from the center T to the singles line. He moves around a lot. The pics below are from the quarter-final against Arthur Fery.
Cobolli – Traditional 1st Serve Location
In the pic above, Cobolli is standing in a very traditional position for first serves. His serve location allows for a wide serve or a slice down the middle. This is where most players stand as sort of a midway point, so that wide and T options are both available.
Cobolli – Wide 1st Serve Location
This is what I saw so much in Parma in 2021 against Giron and Struff. Cobolli was so good at standing really wide in the Ad court and hitting a heavy kick first serve that pulls the returner off the court. He then dines on a Serve +1 forehand back behind them, or straight down the line (inside-in). If the returner stands wider to counter this tactic, Cobolli slips a first serve right down the middle T. Gotcha.
His excellent kick serve, combined with lightning speed make this such a potent strategy.
Cobolli – Middle 1st Serve Location
This middle position helps create chaos in the returner’s mind. Not only is Cobolli standing in multiple positions, but he is also mixing his serve location. Moving around to different locations to serve is a great idea. Very few players take advantage of this extra layer of strategy to win service points.
Cobolli – 1st Serve Location vs. Fery
In the Ad court, Cobolli actually served more down the T (17) than he did out wide (10). This was probably due to the strength of Fery’s backhand return from that location.
SUMMARY
It is perfectly acceptable in your mind to mix up your serve locations in the Ad court and target down the T, at the body, and out wide.
It also needs to be perfectly acceptable in your mind to mix up where you stand to hit your first serves in the Ad (and Deuce) court.
- Don’t limit yourself. Like most things in life, you don’t know what the result will be until you try it.
- Maybe it makes the returner stand in a new location they are not used to.
- Maybe it messes with their mind so much that their return footwork and technique become compromised.
- By standing wider, it opens up a big area for the returner to go down the line – which is just an ambush. It’s not easy to take a high-kicking serve and direct it down the line. If the return is not very good, it opens up a cross court forehand for you to instantly attack.
- By standing wide and going T, you really get inside your opponent’s head.
Should you copy Cobolli’s Ad court serve strategy? Why not! What have you got to lose?