Welcome to Season 14 Episode 21 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, Lisa chats with Italian talent identifier and coach, Luca Appino who is with his 14-year-old player competing in the Italian Open Junior event.

Luca started his career in Italy and for over 10 years was dedicated to the development of tennis schools in various clubs. He became experienced in management, marketing and product testing while working for industry leaders such as Dunlop, Babolat, and Fila.

Luca has dedicated a significant part of his work and research to talent scouting. For Babolat, he selected various young and, at that time, almost unknown, players from 11 to 15 years old; four of them reached the #1 position in the ATP and WTA: Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, and Dinara Safina. 

In 2008 Luca founded Tennis-Talents and implemented the TT Method. Between 2010 and 2011, he was the Executive Tennis Director of the Tunisian Tennis Federation and coach of Ons Jabeur, the Roland Garros Junior 2011 girls champion.​

Luca is also instrumental in supporting the Smrikva Bowl, a prestigious junior tournament set in Croatia for junior players age 10 and under from around the world. The goal of the tournament is to promote global awareness and understanding through the sport of tennis.

If you are interested in getting in touch with Luca for online or in person coaching or consulting , his email is luca@tennistalents.net. You can also contact him through the Tennis Talents website at https://www.tennistalents.net/contact.

As always, I am available for one-to-one consults to work with you as you find your way through the college recruiting process. You can purchase and book online through our website at ⁠⁠https://parentingaces.com/shop/category/consult-with-lisa-stone/⁠⁠.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone