Flavio Cobolli and Belinda Bencic won the mixed doubles title together at Indian Wells.
Cobolli won the Mexican Open title before heading to Indian Wells, his third ATP title after a poor start to the 2026 season.
However, Cobolli only won one singles match at Indian Wells this year after suffering a heavy defeat to Frances Tiafoe.
The Italian’s tournament was not over yet though, as Cobolli partnered Bencic for the mixed doubles invitational event.
Flavio Cobolli admits Belinda Bencic made him focus more
Cobolli and Bencic made it all the way to the mixed doubles final at Indian Wells, where they beat top seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Gabriela Dabrowski 6-3, 2-6, [10-7].
After winning the title together, Cobolli was asked if he had learnt anything from playing alongside Bencic.
Cobolli responded by revealing that Bencic had made him realise that he does not focus enough during his singles matches.
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“I mean, I saw what she does outside the court,” Cobolli said in the post-match press conference. “She’s another person. She’s really kind. She’s also a mom.
“So when you see her on court, is completely different. She change the attitude, she change her face and the eyes are more on focus, you know. So I miss that part on my game. So sometimes I cannot stay focused for a long time, but with her, it’s another thing. I think I stayed focused for all the four match.
“So it’s also, because I saw her during the practice, we talk a lot with my dad about her tennis. For sure she can improve something also maybe from me. Also maybe we talk about how I move or something like that. But it’s more thing that I improve from her that the opposite.”
Flavio Cobolli reveals how his partnership with Belinda Bencic happened
The partnership between Cobolli and Bencic appears quite a random one from an outside perspective, particularly as they are not from the same nation,
However, Cobolli revealed that they had already played together at an exhibition in China earlier this year and Bencic asked him if they wanted to play again in Indian Wells.
“First of all, we are really happy to have the chance to play together,” said Cobolli. “We played an exhibition match in China this year. I mean, I felt some good vibes that maybe can help me also during the singles tournament. Yeah, she asked me…sorry if I say that…”
Bencic replied, “No, it’s true.”
Cobolli added, “To play here, I was a little bit struggling with my wrist. So we wait maybe the last few minutes to sign. But at the end, my wrist was okay, and we played four amazing match together. She’s always nice to me. Not like her daughter (smiling).
“No, I’m really happy to have the chance to play with her another time here in Indian Wells. Is always a big stage, you know. So I can always improve something, and I can learn something from her. I tell her every day that she’s a champion, and really happy if she continues like this, because she’s playing unbelievable.
“Of course she’s gonna come back, for sure, on the top of the tennis on these kind of, you know, matches. Maybe Sunday, Saturday, and maybe she can fight again for this trophy.”
Bencic said, “Thank you.”
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Cobolli and Bencic will now both head to the Miami Open, where there has not been a mixed doubles event since 1989.
However, they could potentially be eyeing an appearance in the US Open mixed doubles event later this year.
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