Turin, 10 March 2022 – The example of Lorenzo Sonego, the technical supervision of his coach Gipo Arbino and the opportunity to compete in national and international tournaments, an essential aspect for improving oneself and attempting to climb the ladder to great tennis. The Torino Tennis Talents project, realised by the non-profit association I Tennis Foundation and which during the first edition has already seen its protagonists achieve excellent results, will continue in 2022. The same beneficiaries are therefore confirmed: Edoardo Zanada (22), Alessia Tagliente (21), Ludovico Madiai (19), Chiara Fornasieri (19) and Mario Nicolas Alarcon (17). All of them made the most of the opportunity, playing major ITF Circuit events such as Antalya, Cairo and Monastir, obtaining good results and accumulating the necessary experience to improve their game and mental skills, which are increasingly crucial in this sport. Promoted and financed by the I Tennis Foundation, the Fondazione Cecilia Gilardi and the Fondazione CRT, TTT has confirmed the scholarships of 6,000 Euros each that will be distributed according to annual commitments and programming agreed with Gipo Arbino and the Circolo della Stampa Sporting staff.
Selected in 2020 by the I Tennis Foundation and Gipo Arbino, after just one season Alessia Tagliente (2.4 in the FIT ranking) has reached a very important milestone for her future. Through the collaboration between TS Tennis College and the Turin-based charity, Alessia signed in September 2021 with the prestigious Mississippi State University. For her, a scholarship worth around $ 0,000 per year for the next four years. An extraordinary challenge for her career, not only in tennis, and an incredible step towards her dream of becoming a professional player. A dream that is also being pursued by Edoardo Zanada, who in the course of an intensive international schedule in 2021, not only travelled through much of Europe and gained important experience, but also took the satisfaction of obtaining his first ATP points in Egypt at the end of the year, thus entering the world rankings for the first time.
The young players, chosen on the basis of their tennis level, aptitude, dedication on the court and the family’s financial possibilities, will again this year receive important support for participation in the most important national and international tournaments, as well as educational and relational support to improve motivation and attitude. A project that further demonstrates how tennis is a very important sport for Turin, now a reference point for racket lovers from all over the world.
Lorenzo Sonego, professional tennis player n°21 ATP and testimonial of the TTT project: “This project is magnificent and made by people who want the good of others. A great tennis player can really come out of here. There are so many young people in the world who have talent but lack the means. Giving these kids an opportunity is a beautiful thing. I am really happy to be part of this association, which was founded by Simone Bongiovanni, with whom I also have a wonderful friendship, to give these kids an opportunity to experience something unique on and off the court”.
Simone Bongiovanni, founder and president of I Tennis Foundation: “TTT is a project in which we believe so much. The boys and girls who have been awarded the grant have given their all and achieved great results of which we are all very proud. Given the commitment shown by each of them, together with our partners, we have decided to renew our support for these youngsters, who are an example to follow for their humility, education and determination. We set up the I Tennis Foundation to support less fortunate children who have tennis talent, but unfortunately not the appropriate means to play this magnificent sport. The vocation of our initiatives is exclusively humanitarian: we want to help talents who have an innate determination and hunger for social redemption, giving them the chance to succeed on the court and in life”.
Torino Tennis Talents it’s a I Tennis project. We would like to thank Fondazione Cecilia Gilardi, Fondazione CRT, Circolo della Stampa Sporting, CRAI, G.Engineering, Mollo noleggi, Assist Digital and Compet-e for their support.