Up-and-coming player Raffaele Ciurnelli wins the first edition of the One Point Cup

The first edition of the One Point Cup took place at the Sporting Club Milano2 in Segrate. This tournament format has made its debut in Italy following its success at the Australian Open. The 5,000-euro prize was won by Raffaele Ciurnelli, born in 2008, who defeated France’s Maxeem Bertimon in the final. Among the participants was former tennis player Stefano Pescosolido, who was eliminated in the first round.

Two weeks ago, he was at Wimbledon training with Jannik Sinner and advancing to the semifinals of the junior tournament on the grass courts in London; now he is the winner of the first edition of the One Point Cup. It has been an intense few days for Raffaele Ciurnelli, a promising young Italian tennis player, who triumphed on the center clay court at the Sporting Club Milano2 in Segrate. The One Point Cup adopts the format already popularized during the most recent Australian Open, with men and women, professionals and amateurs, all competing in the same draw without distinction by gender or category. Each match is decided by a single point.

From Melbourne to Milan—but while in Australia it was an amateur who came out on top, even managing to knock out Sinner—in Segrate, the 5,000-euro prize, sponsored by partner Audi Sesto Autoveicoli, went to a professional. Ciurnelli, born in 2008, won the final against France’s Maxeem Bertimon. The tennis player, born in Umbria but now based in Arezzo, closed out the match with a flawless serve-and-volley strategy.

Ciurnelli, a member of the Under-18 national team that will compete in the Summer Cup next week, eliminated, in order, amateur Alessandro Salsi, Gabriele Bosio, Swiss player Nicolas Parizzia, and Italian-Argentine Juan Manzano along the way.

“Winning the One Point Cup was a wonderful feeling. It’s the first time I’ve participated in this type of competition, and I thank the organizers for this great afternoon of tennis. “I was a little nervous at first, especially when serving, but I think that’s normal,” Ciurnelli said at the end of the tournament.

There was no shortage of surprises, however, both on the court and in the stands, where the approximately 300 spectators never failed to cheer on the players. Among the 48 entrants, the name of former professional tennis player Stefano Pescosolido stood out; he was eliminated in the first round by experienced amateur Paolo Sanmarchi, who surprised his opponent with a winning serve—confirming that anything can happen at the One Point Cup. The women also performed well, with Valentina Formaglio and Alyssa Pezzutti advancing past the first round by defeating male opponents.

“We wanted to bring the format we saw in Melbourne to Italy, and I must say it worked very well. We’re already thinking about how to make the next edition even richer and more engaging. Today’s response from the audience and the players was fantastic,” said Filippo Pallucchini, board member of the Sporting Club Milano2 and organizer of the One Point Cup.

The One Point Cup is part of the TempoCasa Sporting Club Milano2 Cup, an international ITF M15 tournament with a prize pool of $15,000. Many Italians are still in the running, including top seed Juan Manzano and Ciurnelli himself, who is dreaming of a sensational double victory. The final will be held on Sunday, July 26.