A very special conclusion for the Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura Little Tennis Champions 2022-23 fellows. Within the fantastic location of the Circolo del Ministero degli Esteri in Rome, I Tennis Foundation organised the final evening of the project dedicated to the 12 Italian talents and presented the charity programme I Tennis Foundation for Ukrainian Kids, aimed at hosting four Ukrainian girls and their mothers in Turin for a year, supporting them both in their tennis training and schooling, as well as in their participation in Tennis Europe tournaments.
Present at the evening were some of the best tennis players and coaches of the past and present: Davismen Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego, their coaches Simone Tartarini and Gipo Arbino, the programme’s technical director Emilio Sanchez, Marta Kostjuk and Anhelina Kalinina as testimonials of the project dedicated to Ukrainian tennis players, and in video link, Ivan Ljubicic, member of the technical committee of Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura Little Tennis Champions 2022-23.
The journey of the 12 young Italian tennis players was illustrated during the evening through the projection of a docufilm made by Gabriele Bertotti, who observed their evolution over the 10 months in which the six boys (Mattia Bille, Mattia Cappellari, Alessio Citton, Alex Romano, Lorenzo Rocco and Carlo Paci) and six girls (Francesca Galli, Martina Cerbo, Alessandra Fiorillo, Sabrina Baranovschi, Alessia Sbrana and Giulia Di Concetto) played in Italy, Spain, France, Croatia and Montenegro. A path that has led them to compete in some of the best academies in the world (Emilio Sanchez Academy, Ljubicic Tennis Academy and Rafa Nadal Academy) with a truly extraordinary overall result: 8 tournaments won, 7 finals played and 12 semi-finals reached.
“We are very happy with the path of the 12 scholarship holders,” explained Simone Bongiovanni, president and founder of I Tennis Foundation. Accompanied by our technical committee and our coaches, they all gave their best and made remarkable progress both technically and mentally. The goal was to contribute to their growth, and the results were a logical consequence of this path. Hoping to complete the necessary fundraising, we would like to start again in July with the same 12 young tennis players and from September start the I Tennis Foundation for Ukrainian Kids programme to help four Ukrainian kids and their mothers”.
During the Charity Dinner honorary membership awards were presented to Alessandro Scarfò, managing director of Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura, title sponsor of the programme, and to Lorenzo Musetti, a perfect example of a player on and off the court who has already achieved a lot and works with passion and humility for ever more ambitious goals: “This is truly a forward-looking path,” said Musetti himself about the Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura Little Tennis Champions project, “which brings young players who have a passion for tennis, but not the economic means to do it at their best, to train with great coaches and experts. I am very happy to receive this award: today I gave my contribution with my presence, but I hope in the future to give even more, even some advice, because I see myself a lot in these kids, in their pure faces and in their passion for this sport”.
“It was wonderful to participate in this event. It is a very important project and we are happy to support it and to be an example for all boys and girls who have the dream of becoming tennis players,” said both Marta Kostjuk and Anhelina Kalinina, now respectively n° 40 and 47 WTA, and testimonials of the charity programme I Tennis Foundation for Ukrainian Kids, realised in cooperation with Laureus Italia.
Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura LTC
The Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura Little Tennis Champions scholarship scheme aims to provide a year-long course including tennis training sessions, participation in international Tennis Europe tournaments and important activities such as mental coaching, English language courses, civic education, learning by the champions, journalism and sports communication.
In detail, the programme includes: 5 weeks of tennis training, 8 weeks of Tennis Europe tournaments, 4 three-day training sessions and 6 additional training courses. The training sessions will take place at some of the best international tennis academies such as the Emilio Sanchez Academy in Barcelona and the Ljubicic Tennis Academy in Lošinj, Croatia.
I Tennis Foundation for Ukrainian Kids
I Tennis has created I Tennis Foundation for Ukrainian Kids, a programme in cooperation with Laureus Italia that will award an annual scholarship to four talented 14-year-olds from Ukraine.
For the four girls the scholarship will consist of tennis training, schooling and international programming coordinated by the I Tennis Foundation technical committee consisting of Gipo Arbino, Emilio Sanchez, Ivan Ljubicic and Stefano Massari.
The annual programme is scheduled to start in September 2023 and includes:
4 scholarships for tennis, school, full hospitality and international programming
4 parents hosted in Italy
10 months of tennis and athletics training
2 dedicated full-time tutors
5 weeks of Tennis Europe / ITF tournaments
