Simone Bolelli was born on October 8th, 1985 in Bologna, Italy. He turned pro in 2003 but did not make his debut on the ATP Tour until 2006 at the Rome Masters. That year Bolelli won two Challenger Tournaments and played four matches on the ATP Tour losing them all.

In 2007 he again won two titles on the Challenger Circuit and featured much more on the ATP Tour. He made his debut at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open reaching the 2nd round in all three events. In 2008 he made his Australian Open debut but was again beaten in Round Two.