Now that the application period has closed and the selection process has been completed, the Technical Committee and the Board of Directors of the I Tennis Foundation are delighted to announce the recipients of the 8 scholarships for the Cuneo Tennis Talents 2026 programme, along with 2 athletes selected as alternates.
The assessment criteria that guided the selection of the winners in this final stage, as set out in the regulations, were as follows:
Tennis ability, ambition and determination (35%)
Ranking (25%)
Family financial circumstances (40%)
Below are the names of the eight young people selected, comprising four boys and four girls, listed in alphabetical order, together with their respective alternates.
BOYS
In alphabetical order
Barbero Edoardo – Fossano (CN) – Sporting Club Fossano
Boragno Davide – Sanfrè (CN) – Tennis Club Sommariva Bosco
Ghilardo Gabriele – Revello (CN) – Tennis Club Saluzzo
Pitruzzella Nicolò – Pocapaglia (CN) – Match Ball Tennis Club Bra (CN)
ALTERNATES
Viglione Matteo – Dogliani (CN) – Play Tennis & Padel Dogliani
GIRLS
In alphabetical order
Butnaru Elena – Cuneo – Country Club Cuneo
Compagno Anna – Alba (CN) – Tennis Club Alba
Gatti Emma – Cherasco (CN) – Match Ball Bra Tennis Club
Petitti Nicole – Savigliano (CN) – ASD Tennis Club Savigliano
ALTERNATES
Leotta Alessandra – Cuneo – Country Club Cuneo
The eight selected scholarship recipients will be officially presented on Thursday 13 February at 11am at Alba Town Hall, during the press event marking the launch of the programme.
The event will be attended by Gipo Arbino, Lorenzo Sonego’s long-standing coach, Alice Petruccioli, Lorenzo Sonego’s nutritionist, and the technical staff of the I Tennis Foundation.
The Cuneo Tennis Talents 2026 scholarship programme will take place in February, March and April and will include four special training sessions with the selected scholarship recipients.
Throughout the programme, subject to their work commitments, leading international coaches and professionals will collaborate with the coaches from I Tennis Foundation: in addition to Gipo Arbino, Damiano Fiorucci, Lorenzo Musetti’s current fitness coach, and Claudio Zimaglia, former physiotherapist to Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, will be involved.
A special thank you goes to all the families who took part in the selection process, in the knowledge that entry to the programme is a competition for a scholarship scheme in which the criteria of solidarity and meritocracy have carried substantial and explicit weight.
A heartfelt thank you also goes to all the young people who were not selected, who demonstrated great interest, commitment and motivation in applying for this programme.
Finally, we would like to thank our sponsors, partners and donors for their ongoing support, and we would like to extend a renewed invitation to attend the press event on 13 February in Alba, which will officially mark the start of this new and exciting venture with the Cuneo Tennis Talents project.
We can’t wait to get started. See you on court!