Wimbledon is normally where tennis players do tennis things. Pump their fists. Drop to their knees. Maybe, if they’re feeling spicy, a little bow to the crowd. But on Saturday, Flavio Cobolli went a different direction entirely.
The Italian beat Karen Khachanov in five sets to advance to the next round. After sealing the win, he didn’t just raise his arms in relief. He dropped into a surfing motion — the signature celebration of Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha — and the crowd ate it up.
Cobolli explained after the match that it was not spontaneous. It was a bet with his coach. “We were watching the World Cup and this is the Brazilian striker [Cunha] that I love to repeat,” he said, according to United’s official website.
The celebration has been traveling all over
Cunha developed that move during his breakout with United last season. It became a regular sight at Old Trafford as the Brazilian forward rattled in goals down the stretch. He followed that up with three goals at the World Cup, even if Brazil’s run ended earlier than expected against Norway in the round of 16.
This surf thing has legs. Back in May, United’s women’s team used it at the World Sevens tournament. Elisabeth Terland and Maya Le Tissier both hit the celebration after scoring. Now a tennis player in London is doing it. It’s pretty much the closest thing to a crossover hit that soccer celebrations get.
Cunha himself is currently on duty with Brazil in North America. He probably didn’t expect his trademark move to pop up on Centre Court. But here we are.
Why it actually makes sense
Cobolli is Italian, Cunha is Brazilian. That sounds random until you remember that tennis players watch a ton of soccer. And Wimbledon is exactly the kind of stage where a guy will pull out something stupidly fun if he just grinds through five sets. Khachanov is no pushover. Cobolli needed something dramatic to punctuate that comeback. The surf celebration worked.
Cunha has said the move is a tribute to his actual love of surfing. So it’s not just a made-up thing he does for cameras. It’s a real hobby turned into a trademark. That probably makes it easier for other athletes to copy without it feeling forced.
Cunha is headed for a break soon, then United’s preseason tour. He might catch the clip of Cobolli’s celebration when he checks his phone. Or not. Either way, the move is spreading faster than United’s marketing team could have hoped.
Wimbledon keeps producing these little moments. This one just happened to involve a forward who plays 3,000 miles away.
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