The young talents of the I Tennis Foundation continue to amaze even in 2024 which has just begun.
Fresh from the stop in Rome in December with Vincenzo Santopadre and Stefano Massari, the scholarship holders of the Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura Little Tennis Champions charity program are working towards the next international tournaments with the awareness that the road is still very long but the path undertaken has already led significant fruits, both in terms of general growth (technical, tactical, athletic and mental) and in terms of the results achieved.
As the super coaches who have followed our team over the last two seasons have often said (from Gipo Arbino to Ivan Ljubicic, passing through Emilio Sanchez, Francesca Schiavone and Rocco Loccisano), what really matters at this age is performance, improve day after day, with the result having to be a consequence and not the main objective.
And the girls and boys of the I Tennis Foundation have implemented the advice of these extraordinary coaches: acquiring new technical-tactical skills on the court, growing a lot from a mental point of view and obtaining truly extraordinary results.
During 2023 our scholarship holders have collected 11 victories in Tennis Europe tournaments, 8 finals and 6 semi-finals and an incredible final in the ITF tournament in Pescara signed by Mattia Cappellari (in his debut on the ITF tour), in which they add the Italian doubles titles of Francesca Galli and Alessandra Fiorillo (Under 16), and of Martina Cerbo (Under 15).
Victories and trophies which also had a pleasant effect on their respective best rankings at Tennis Europe level, with the additional satisfaction for Cappellari and Fiorillo of being in the running for the final Masters in Monte Carlo for a long time.
During the international programme there were a lot of meetings, training and/or classroom sessions with some of the great interpreters of this splendid discipline. From Gipo Arbino (coach of the world champion Lorenzo Sonego) to Ivan Ljubicic (last to sit in Roger Federer’s corner) and Emilio Sanchez (one of the greatest coaches in the history of this sport), passing through the former Davisman Omar Camporese (18 ATP) and Vincenzo Santopadre (led Berrettini to the Wimbledon final), and then continued with Lorenzo Musetti, Lorenzo Sonego, Simone Tartarini, Stefano Massari, Fabio Fognini, Flavia Pennetta, Marta Kostyuk, Anhelina Kalinina and Raffaella Reggi.
An incredible journey that will continue until May 2024 with the same passion and determination as always from both the I Tennis Foundation staff and our fantastic young talents!
VICTORIES AND PLACINGS 2023
Under 16 Ljubicic Tennis Academy (Croatia): Fiorillo-Cerbo women’s doubles victory / Cappellari semi-final;
Under 16 Vic (Spain): Cerbo and Fiorillo women’s doubles final + Cappellari semi-final;
Under 16 Malta: victory in singles and doubles by Alessandra Fiorillo;
Under 16 Biella: singles victory by Alessandra Fiorillo; doubles victory by Cerbo and Fiorillo over Galli/Di Concetto;
Under 14 Sassuolo: singles and doubles final by Alex Romano;
Under 16 Haid (Austria): single victory Mattia Cappellari – double victory Cerbo-Fiorillo;
Under 16 Krems (Austria): Galli single and double final (with Cerbo) – Fiorillo double victory – Cappellari semi-final;
Under 16 Koufalia (Greece): singles victory by Mattia Cappellari – women’s singles victory Alessandra Fiorillo over Galli – doubles semi-final Paci-Bille – singles semi-final Cerbo;
Under 16 Aridea (Greece): Mattia Cappellari victory over Carlo Paci – Galli semi-final;
Italian Under 15 women’s championships: victory in doubles by Martina Cerbo;
Italian Under 16 women’s championships: victory in doubles by Alessandra Fiorillo and Francesca Galli;
Italian Under 15 men’s championships: semi-final for Carlo Paci;
Italian Under 16 men’s championships: quarter-finals for Mattia Cappellari;
2023-2024: BEST RANKING TENNIS EUROPE UNDER 16 – BOYS
Mattia Cappellari n.14 (previous n.108)
Carlo Paci n.64 (447)
Matteo Gribaldo n.140
Mattia Bille n.248 (771)
Mattia Cona n.426
Alex Romano n.840 (1097)
2023-2024: BEST RANKING TENNIS EUROPE UNDER 16 – GIRLS
Alessandra Fiorillo n.76 (previous 330)
Martina Cerbo n.122 (395)
Francesca Galli n.146 (388)
Giulia Di Concetto n.298 (370)
Elisabetta Allegra n.353
Sabrina Baranovschi n.726 (818)
Fotogallery 2023
