Abodi at Gemelli for Tennis and Friends in CORSIA

“Sport can be a factor of care and prevention for the health and well-being of people, just as stated in paragraph 7 of art. 33 of the Constitution. This initiative deserves all our support, we are in a place where there is also pain, discomfort and suffering, but where we must also bring a word of hope and the prospect that physical activity can bring benefits to the physique of people of all ages”: with these words the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, spoke today at the Polyclinic Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS in Rome for the stage of the Trophy Tour 2025/2026 which exclusively displayed the international team tennis trophies, Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup in the Hall. Inserted in the social project “Let’s not leave anyone alone”, promoted by the Giuseppe Toniolo Institute and the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, in collaboration with Tennis and Friends – Salute e Sport, Italian Tennis and Padel Federation (FITP) and International Tennis Federation and Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli, the initiative allowed patients and their families to admire the Cups won by the Italian champions in 2025 for three days.

garbin and the others

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Taking part in the ceremony were, among others, the captain of the Italian women’s national tennis team, Tathiana Garbin (“Tennis and health run on the same track: that of team play. Just as the successes in the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup were born from the strength of the group, so in the hospital wards doctors and researchers work together to win the most precious match: life. Supporting these initiatives means giving a smile and reminding everyone that, by remaining united, we are stronger than any challenge”), and Giorgio Meneschincheri of the Gemelli Polyclinic, founder and president of Tennis and Friends. There was also a touching memory of a protagonist of Italian tennis who recently passed away: Nicola Pietrangeli, captain of the team that won the Davis Cup in 1976 and honorary president since the beginning of Tennis and Friends.

in the departments

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The heart of the event was the passing of the Cups in the medical oncology, pediatric oncology and child neurosurgery, general paediatrics, pediatric Nemo center and child neuropsychiatry departments, for the Tennis and Friends in the ward project, promoted by Tennis and Friends and aimed at bringing sport and its values ​​into healthcare facilities to meet patients and in particular hospitalized children and their families. For both children and adults, it was an opportunity to see the Cups up close and play with the Federation instructors who set up tennis nets along the corridors, to spend a moment of serenity full of meaning. “Bringing the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup to a health resort like Gemelli means giving an even deeper meaning to these victories”, declared Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, in his message.