In Turin, on the court, there are not only tennis players, but also the “lucky charms” of the Italian Parents’ Union against children’s cancer. The common thread that binds them is the illness, the treatments and the desire to return to live like their peers. And these are their stories
The week of the ATP Finals no longer belongs only to tennis players, to the best eight in the world. Since the tournament has been held in Turin, they have also been among the protagonists: the mascots. Some improvise dances transforming the indoor concrete trodden by Sinner and Alcaraz into a disco floor; others are more shy and hesitant, still others share a great passion for sport with the champions they accompany. However, the stories of Gioele, Nicole, Clara and many others have a common thread: the illness, the treatments and the desire to return to living like their peers. Nitto, sponsor of the ATP Finals, has chosen as Charity Partner Ugi (Italian Parents’ Union against children’s cancer), the Turin association which for over forty years has supported young patients with recreational and educational activities and offers support to their families during the treatment process. Thanks to this collaboration, some patients being treated at Regina Margherita took to the court to accompany the great tennis champions.
GIOELE
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The first to steal the show was Gioele, 7 years old. He accompanied Ben Shelton in the match against Sascha Zverev and, immediately afterwards, he indulged in a dance that went viral on social media. “Before entering the field he asked me if he could dance: I advised him not to. In the end, however, he convinced the head of the Federation, they agreed and thus those steps you saw were born”, says his mother, Erica. The reason for that gesture is not entirely clear even to her, although there is an explanation: “The children were asked to get excited about the tennis player in view of the match and he gets very excited when he dances.” Gioele didn’t fully understand the scope of his performance, but he did: at school he watches the video with his classmates and then peppers his mother with questions. “He asks me: ‘How many likes do I have? Has half the world seen me or the whole world?’ I explain to him that, given the importance of the event, many have seen it… but it’s not easy to make them understand.” Affectionate and full of energy, dancing and singing were two ways in which Gioele faced his illness: a kidney tumor for which he has now been out of treatment for a year. For now he doesn’t practice sports, only psychomotor skills, but it is not excluded that one day he will pick up a racket and ball. The mother, however, has her own idea: “He loves running, and in my opinion he will do athletics when he grows up.”
NICOLE
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“She’s a gymnast.” It’s the first thing the mother says when talking about Eva Nicole, who has just turned seven. Rhythmic gymnastics has always been her world, and it remained so even during her treatment: “Despite the cortisone, she always wanted to train and made video calls with the teachers to show the exercises she tried at home”, say her parents. Nicole returned home after undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia since June. His dream is to one day enter the world of television, and he has already taken a small step: acting as a mascot at the Finals and taking the field hand in hand with Carlos Alcaraz, the number one in the world. “They asked her how tall Alcaraz was and she replied: ‘He’s as tall as my dad’,” the parents say, smiling. For Nicole he is no longer “Alcaraz”, he is simply “Carlos”: this is what he calls him with his friends, with his colleagues in the department and even with the president of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio. During that walk on the court at the Finals, the Spanish tennis player asked her how she was, in Spanish, but the emotion overwhelmed her: “I didn’t understand anything,” she says. His and his father Mitrea’s desire is clear: “Alcaraz is space-age, he’s like the greats of this sport: Federer, Sampras, Agassi. We would have liked to see Djokovic too.” But tennis, here, is only the background: “It is not an easy disease to cure or keep away. This opportunity at the Finals is a symbol of hope for all children.”
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