Young talents from the Intesa Sanpaolo Assicurazioni Little Tennis Champions program, sponsored by the charity I Tennis Foundation, recently took part in the under-18 ITF J100 and J60 tournaments in Antalya, Turkey, held March 10-23 at the Megasaray Tennis Academy.
In particular, Matteo Gribaldo from Tuscany, the reigning under-16 Italian champion, distinguished himself by consecutively reaching both finals of the doubles tournament; first paired with Antonio Marigliano from Campania, then paired with fellow I Tennis scholar Mattia Bille. In both cases, the pair surrendered after an outstanding run only to compatriots Raffaele Ciurnelli and Pietro Ricci, a well-rounded and close-knit duo, in a hard-fought two-match match, in one case until the decisive supertiebreak. These results also represent the third and fourth doubles finals of the season for Gribaldo, following successes in Palermo and Pescara. Gribaldo also reached the quarterfinals in the J60 singles tournament.
Good indications also for Francesca Galli, who reached a women’s doubles semifinal together with Alessandra Fiorillo-the two are former Italian under-15 champions-with encouraging performances on her return after a three-month stop due to injury. Program new-entry Alessia Antici, to whom our best wishes go for a speedy recovery, made the main draw in both tournaments, only to have to unfortunately abandon her own round of 16 match in an advantageous situation due to a knee injury. The rest of the team consisting of Mattia Cappellari, Carlo Paci, Mattia Paolo Pagano and Van Son Didoni played level matches, facing some of the most interesting names in the junior tennis scene.
The caliber of the scenarios with which our young talents constantly have the opportunity to relate is evidenced by the presence in Turkey and the support of Rocco Loccisano, a member of our technical committee and former coach of ATP No. 4 Pat Cash, as well as the WTA 125 Antalya women’s professional tournament, held simultaneously at the same location. The experience in the Antalya tournaments represented a fundamental opportunity for tennis and personal growth for the scholars, who were also able to measure their progress from a mental and attitudinal point of view and face new international level opponents.
The young tennis players’ adventure will continue in April with the ITF J60 tournament in Mentone, France.