A special year, which had the tennis court as its backdrop but actually represented much more. It ended in August with the closing ceremony together with local institutions the humanitarian project I Tennis Foundation Ukrainian Kids, implemented by the Turin-based charity in cooperation with the Ukrainian Tennis Federation. The goal was to enable four young Ukrainian female tennis players to continue dreaming by hosting them in Turin together with their mothers through a year-long scholarship plan including full hospitality, tennis and athletic training at the Circolo della Stampa Sporting, under the direct supervision of Gipo Arbino (Lorenzo Sonego’s historical coach), Ivan Ljubicic (former no. 3 ATP and last to sit in Roger Federer’s corner) and Stefano Massari (Matteo Berrettini’s mental coach), as well as school, complementary courses and international programming through participation in 12 TennisEurope/ITF tournaments.
The four tennis players who have benefited from the scholarship are Polina Kuznietsova, Adelina Nykyforuk, Arina Yatsuta and Mariia Medvedkova, but over the course of the year I Tennis Foundation has also hosted four other girls, with their mothers, for shorter periods: Veronika Shepelenko, Sofia Kucherova, Veronika Pavlenko and Mary Sidelnyk, bringing to 16 the number of Ukrainian refugees helped over the past 12 months.
“I and the other board members, who have been working pro-bono for more than six years, were very happy to have started this project,” explains Simone Bongiovanni, founder of I Tennis Foundation and coordinator of the program. ”After a local project (Torino Tennis Talents) and a national one (Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura Little Tennis Champions), we are proud to have implemented an international humanitarian program. It has been an intense year where we have seen these amazing girls grow day by day. We did our utmost to make their stay in Turin unforgettable. They trained in such a prestigious setting as the Circolo della Stampa Sporting, under the constant guidance of Gipo Arbino, technical supervisor of all our initiatives and special mentor of our association. I have personally followed them along this path also at the mental level guided by Stefano Massari, metnal coach of Matteo Berrettini who has been assisting us for 3 years now. They have played on several occasions with Lorenzo Sonego, met champions such as Matteo Berrettini, and seen up-close training with the outstanding players of the Masters Tournament. Together with our coaches, they then participated in ten international tournaments, achieving, at the end of the path, an extraordinary result at Tennis Europe Under 16 in Biella, where the four girls came to play the finals of singles and doubles all in the family. Now as an association we will continue to follow their path with the hope of being able to implement new international projects in the coming months for girls and boys who come from difficult geopolitical backgrounds.”
After the launch of the program during the Masters Tournament last November, in the presence of Ivan Ljubicic, Lorenzo Sonego and Gipo Arbino, the girls of I Tennis Foundation for Ukrainian Kids continued their journey working with great passion and dedication on the courts of the Circolo della Stampa Sporting in Turin under the supervision of Gipo Arbino and former professional Stefania Chieppa. This work involved both the technical and athletic part (with the Stampa Sporting staff) and the mental part with the intervention of Stefano Massari (Matteo Berrettini’s mental coach) assisted daily by Simone Bongiovanni, program coordinator and co-founder of I Tennis Foundation.
During this period, the four girls from Ukraine also had the opportunity to fully experience the city of Turin, its historic center and its museums, settling in naturally and managing to live with greater serenity the difficult historical moment of their country. Now it’s time to say goodbye. “Our story ended in Turin and it was wonderful – says Inna, the mother of Adelina Nykyforuk – To all the staff of I Tennis Foundation: you have done a great job for our girls! Everything has been taken care of in detail: accommodation, food, clothing, training, physical preparation, mental coaching, medicine, transport, school, recreation, leisure and much more. We will never forget your kindness, generosity and care! I thank you from the heart. You really helped girls achieve their goals and dreams. Italy, Turin and the Tennis Foundation will be forever in our hearts!”. “Thank you friends – explains instead the 2008 class Arina Yatsuta -. Your generosity and your support have really made a difference in our lives! We are happy to have participated in this project and that all of you had a positive impact on our lives. We will always be grateful for your kindness and compassion. My mother and I discovered Italy for the first time and the Italians: you are so warm and kind. We enjoyed the sport, the home, the tasty food and your attention to us. Thank you for the many tournaments, for all the coaches who have accompanied us and supported us. Italy is in my heart forever. And a huge special thanks to Simone, who has had worldwide attention for us all the time. Thank you Italy!”.
“It was a very important project and we were happy to support it and be an example for all the children who have dreams of becoming tennis players,” report in unison Marta Kostjuk (20 WTA), Dayana Yastremska (27 WTA) and, Anhelina Kalinina (49 WTA), testimonial of the charity program I Tennis Foundation for Ukrainian Kids together with the blue champions Lorenzo Sonego and Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
The programme
I Tennis Foundation for Ukrainian Kids is a humanitarian programme carried out thanks to the partners Assist Digital, Barilla, Coop Lombardia, LabLaw and Ljubicic Tennis Academy, in collaboration with the Ukrainian Tennis Federation and Laureus Italia, with the contribution of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, CRT Foundation, Cecilia Gilardi Foundation and Fondazione BNL, and with the sponsorship of Sport e Salute, Regione Piemonte, Città di Torino and Professional Tennis Registry.
The annual programme started in October 2023 and includes:
8 scholarships for tennis, school, full hospitality and international programming and parents hosted in Italy
10 months of tennis training, athletics, mental and complementary courses to tennis
12 weeks of ITF tournaments – Tennis Europe
