Two weeks, two tournaments, two trophies. The latest Cyprus trip of the Little Tennis Champions programme ended in spectacular fashion thanks to the outstanding performance of Nadja Knezevic, born in 2012 and supported by I Tennis Foundation for the past two years, who claimed back-to-back victories at the J30 Limassol and J30 Larnaca, securing the first two ITF Junior titles of her young career.
A remarkable achievement for the Montenegrin player, who has shown significant progress over the past months not only from a technical and tactical standpoint, but especially in her competitive mindset and mental approach. In modern tennis, these qualities are often just as important as pure playing ability.
At the J30 Limassol, Nadja captured her maiden ITF title by defeating Ellie Barker, Maya Fishman, Noya Rojansky, Olivia Frauchiger and, in the final, Lior Javetz. [coretennis.net], [tennisdbjp.com], [coretennis.net]
One week later, she proved it was no coincidence. At the J30 Larnaca, Nadja claimed a second consecutive title by overcoming local favourite Aleksija Strika in a thrilling final, winning 5-7, 7-6(2), 7-5 after a hard-fought battle. [coretennis.net], [tennisdbjp.com]
The Cyprus double delivered more than just two trophies. Thanks to her victories in Limassol and Larnaca, Nadja climbed to a career-high ranking of World No. 810 in the ITF Junior rankings. An impressive milestone considering that the young I Tennis Foundation scholar is only 14 years old and regularly competes against opponents four or five years older than her. It is further confirmation of the technical, tactical and mental growth she has been demonstrating week after week.
Adding even more prestige to her triumph in Limassol was the awards ceremony itself, where Nadja received her trophy from Marcos Baghdatis, former World No. 8 and one of the most iconic figures in Cypriot tennis history.
Nadja’s success is not only an individual accomplishment. It is the result of a shared journey involving the entire I Tennis Foundation team. Day after day, the Foundation’s technical staff, Simone Bongiovanni, Alfredo Santacroce, Riccardo Sosso and Andrea Tortorella, work closely with the players under the guidance of Gipo Arbino, mentor of the project and technical coordinator for all scholarship athletes.
After helping Lorenzo Sonego reach the highest levels of professional tennis, Arbino continues to dedicate his expertise to the next generation of talent supported by I Tennis Foundation. His work is also contributing to the rapid development of Filippo Romano, recent winner of the ATP Challenger 50 in Florence and owner of a new career-high ranking.
It was an excellent trip, with signs of great progress also for Carolina Pacini and Alexia Strika. The two scholarship holders from I Tennis Foundation enjoyed a wonderful and formative experience at the recent tournaments in Poreč and Cyprus. Their international journey has thus been enriched by key milestones, which are useful not only for testing themselves against high-level competition, but also for consolidating the technical and mental aspects of their game.
The outstanding results achieved in Cyprus are also a source of pride for all the partners who support the mission of I Tennis Foundation: providing talented young players with opportunities that allow them to pursue their dreams and fulfil their potential, both on and off the court.
For Nadja, these two trophies represent a wonderful starting point. For I Tennis Foundation, they are yet another confirmation that investing in young people, teamwork and personal development is the right path to building the future of tennis.
