Flavio Cobolli on using Nadal’s shower at French Open: ‘More crazy than others’

4 min readJun 4, 2026 05:37 PM IST

Italy's Flavio Cobolli reacts after winning the quarterfinal tennis match against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime at the French Open in Paris, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

As Flavio Cobolli edges closer to the biggest achievement of his career, the Italian has embraced an unusual source of inspiration at Roland Garros: the shower once claimed by Rafael Nadal.

Cobolli, who reached his first Grand Slam semi-final on Wednesday with a four-set win over Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, revealed that he had been following a series of personal rituals throughout his remarkable French Open campaign. Among them is using the same shower cubicle that, according to the Italian, Nadal considered his own during the Spaniard’s dominant years in Paris.

Speaking after his 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Auger-Aliassime, Cobolli admitted that he had also been going to the same restaurant and ordered the same menu as the Spaniard did while competing in Paris. The 24-year-old 10th seed is now just two wins away from a maiden Grand Slam title and will face fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the semi-final on Friday for a place in Sunday’s final.

“I’m a little bit superstitious, but not crazy,” he said after the win on Wednesday. “This week I’m a little bit more crazy than the others. I just go to the same restaurant, the same menu, the same shower.”

Flavio Cobolli with a nice anecdote about Rafa 🎙️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/gGtG0kVjET

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2026

The shower ritual stems from a memorable encounter with Nadal at a previous French Open. Cobolli recalled being inside the cubicle when the 14-time Roland Garros champion knocked on the door, urging him to hurry because he wanted to use it.

“He told me that it was his shower since 14 years,” Cobolli said. “So I think the best thing that I’m doing is the shower.”

After dropping the opening set against Auger-Aliassime in difficult, windy conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier, Cobolli regrouped impressively. The Italian found himself trailing by an early break in the second set before winning four consecutive games to seize momentum and level the contest.

“The first set was incredibly windy, and it was really tough to play,” Cobolli explained. “I went to the toilet to think a bit. I tried to change something.”

The brief reset proved decisive.

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“I thought, ‘This is the best court I’ve played on in my life because I can show my best tennis.’ I said to myself to fight. This is the chance of my life, and I must give everything in all my matches.”

With the stadium roof closed and conditions stabilising, Cobolli produced a composed display, securing a single crucial break in both the third and fourth sets to complete victory after three hours and 24 minutes.

Nadal had spoken about his superstitions after winning the French Open in 2018, sharing that he tended to always use the same shower, the last one, on the right side of the locker room.

“I always shower in the same shower, in the last one on the right of the dressing room,” Nadal had told AS.

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“I always use the same box office, the 159. And little else. I’m introducing things because what I do now is not the same as what I did eight years ago. Before I came to the club 20 minutes earlier, I put the bandages in my hand, I moved a bit, and that’s it. Now I have an hour and a half before, I go to the gym, I warm up a lot more thoroughly. They are routines that change as a result of the need,” he added.

Some of the other well-known superstitions include Serena Williams bouncing the ball five times before her first serve and two times before the second serve. She also tended to wear the same unwashed socks during the course of an entire tournament.

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