Determined, excited and full of talent. They are the 20 boys and girls born in 2008 who, through a nation-wide selection process, have realised their dream: obtain the free pass for the I Tennis Campus 2021 Little Tennis Champions Summer Master (from June 30 to July 25), the first completely non-profit tennis academy, that has as its main goal to support young tennis players to give a chance, not only to prospects already sufficiently followed by their respective Federations, but also to the third and fourth strings that often remain in the shadows and for whom it is almost impossible to reach the top.
In alphabetical order, here is the girls’ roster: Sabrina Baranovschi, Valeria Barlini Pischedda, Matilde Licia Bianchi, Azzurra Cremonini, Alessandra Fiorillo, Matilde Iezza, Gaia Leo, Silvia Maffi, Katia Piazza e Alessia Sbrana. The boys’ expedition is composed of Alessandro Bazzini, Mattia Bille, Gabriel Deza Huete, Loris Mencarelli, Nicolas Francesco Nocolaescu, Federico Pugliese, Christian Sala, Aleksej Sarritzu, Leonardo Spano ed Edoardo Tasca. 10 are the regions represented (3 players each for Piedmont, Sicily and Sardinia) and 15 the hometowns involved (leading them with 2 players each Turin, Rome, Cagliari and Livorno). The youngest female player is the Turinese Matilde Iezza, born November 8, and the “oldest” the Tarantine Gaia Leo, who celebrates her birthday January 5. Among the boys the youngest is Mattia Bille from Vicenza (December 22), while the “old man” of the group is Loris Mencarelli from Rome (March 8). The national ranking of the players varies between the 2.8 held by Azzurra Cremonini from Bologna and the 3.1 of Federico Pugliese (Finale Ligure), who are the highest, and the ranking of 4.2.
The chosen boys and girls will be able to have access to a very high level tennis training, thanks to the technical management of Emilio Sanchez, ex number 7 ATP in singles and founder of the Academia Sanchez-Casal, through which passed a very young Andy Murray. During the Summer Master other great protagonists of the tennis world will alternate. Gipo Arbino and Lorenzo Sonego, special friends and honorary members of I Tennis Foundation, but not only. Also contributing to the training of our young prospects will be Stefano Vukov (coach of Elena Rybakina, n. 20 WTA), the 1986 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash and many others.
The Summer Master began June 30 with the rendezvous in Turin. Players and staff stayed in the city until July 2 at the International Training Centre of the ILO (United Nations Campus) and also visited the Cinema Museum, one of the town’s symbols. On July 3, players and staff travelled to Sardinia, at the Forte Village Resort in Santa Margherita di Pula, seat of I Tennis Campus. In the last week will a tournament will be held (girls’ singles and boys’ singles) where the 20 boys and girls will compete to earn the access to the 2022 final selections for the LTC scholarships. The 4 finalists (2 boys and 2 girls) will also be rewarded with hospitality at the Turin Nitto Atp Finals 2021 and with 2 e-bikes and 2 electric scooters offered by sponsor Iren, Luce, Gas e Servizi and with a supply of Valmora Nitto Atp Finals special edition water.
COACHING STAFF
ITC COACHING DIRECTOR: Emilio Sanchez.
COACHING PROGRAMME MANAGER: Cristian Cianci.
GUEST COACH: Gipo Arbino, Stefano Vukov, Beppe Pagliarello.
COACH: Andrea Fierro, Nicola Oventile, Natacha Marcucci, Gaia Schirru.
FITNESS COACH: Giovanni Amarelli.
GUEST STAR: Lorenzo Sonego, Pat Cash, Magnus Larsson, Margherita Gasparyan.
The initiative, with the patronage of the Italian Tennis Federation (FIT), Sport e Salute, Regione Piemonte, Comune di Torino, Regione Sardegna, Comune di Cagliari, Professional Tennis Registry, Fondazione Ferrero e Fondazione Cecilia Gilardi, is supported by prestigious partners like Academia Sanchez-Casal, Forte Village Resort, ES International School, Top Five Management, TS College Tennis and TennisTalker. Main sponsor is the employment agency Openjobmetis, while the official sponsors are Iren Luce, Gas e Servizi, Società Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni, EY, Ceta, Cogefin Gruppo Colombo and Codè Crai Ovest.
Simone Bongiovanni, I Tennis Foundation Founder
“We are very excited and happy that, after years of work, today we find ourselves presenting 20 young prospects that will participate in the LTC 2021 Summer Master, preliminary to the 4-year scholarship project 2022-2026. A first milestone made possible by the partners and sponsors who strongly believed in our initiative. We received many application from all of Italy and the boys and girls who took part struck us with their tennis abilities and passion for this wonderful sport”.
Rosario Rasizza, CEO of Openjobmetis SpA – Project’s Main Sponsor
“In the position of employment agency, giving value to talent is our day-to-day: contributing to the realisation of a dream, particularly if this belongs to the very young who represent our future, fills our heart even more. We adhered immediately to this project, so unique and innovative because it has a strong societal importance. Offering the best young prospects the concrete opportunity to cultivate their tennis passion with coaches and trainers of high level and at the same time to follow an educational curriculum of absolute relevance, is the pure expression of meritocracy. Break a leg to the 20 chosen boys and girls who, through the Summer Master, will begin their path in the academy! And as I like to always mention… full speed ahead!”