By Simone Bandini
A new season for racket sports has begun in Florence, more precisely at the Chimera Club Sports Centre. I am in the company of the Fitp certified teacher Filippo Galletti, a long-time friend and classmate in middle school – at the time I remember he was a die-hard fan of John McEnroe – whom I see with great pleasure in this new sporting and professional adventure of his.
We are near the Esselunga market in Gignoro, just to give urban references, the area of the sports centre has been recovered from degradation with a targeted redevelopment work and new plants are planned to integrate the current plants (mostly ancient fruits), in order to restore an oasis of greenery on the outskirts of the city. The entire sports complex – which today has 4 padel courts and 4 pickleball courts – will soon be completed by the construction of a beach volleyball court and three resin tennis courts, a surface that guarantees high playing performance and suitable maintenance.
In addition to our Filippo Galletti, technical director, the administrator Stefano Erti, Gabriella Blandino and Carolina Dal Maso, responsible for the secretariat and personnel, are part of this great undertaking of environmental, civil and ‘sporting’ engineering.
Filippo tells himself: “As you know, I have always been dedicated to sport: from swimming to water polo, I have been playing tennis since the age of six… I played in Serie C and I have been a tennis teacher since 2000, after having toured the main clubs of Florence both as a player and as a teacher. In 2015, then, I obtained the 1st level of Padel and in 2022 I became a master at the national level, when this discipline was still only in its infancy and there were only four national masters in Florence”.
Many do not know that padel originated in Central America in the 70s, and more precisely in Mexico in Acapulco, where a certain Enrique Corcuera, brilliantly wanted to take advantage of a small space in his residence to build a court that would allow, in some way, to play tennis. It arrived in Italy at the turn of 2000, but only in recent years has it had its great explosion with flowered facilities everywhere and a very strong appeal for its simplicity and accessibility, suitable for players of all ages and athletic abilities. A fun sport that combines elements of tennis and badminton, of a highly recreational and ‘social’ nature, as it is mainly played in doubles.
“Last year – he continues – I took the 1st Level of Pickleball and today, with our facilities, we actively contribute to the spread of this new discipline that the federation is promoting nationally. We have already hosted a stage of both the ‘Road to Turin’ – which will lead to the National Masters during the Nitto ATP Finals – and one of the international team circuit ‘Italian Pickleball Tour'”.
Born in ’65 in the States – invented by a member of the American Congress, Joe Pritchard – pickleball is a sort of slow-motion tennis that is very popular overseas but which is quickly conquering Europe and Italy: “It is very suitable for children for its immediacy and ease of play, as well as for the not so young, because it is more static and less traumatic”.
It is in the plans for the future, a complete racket school from 6 to 12 years old, where each of the three disciplines can be practiced jointly or separately, to bring out the elective affinities of the young practitioners and perfect those of adults: “We are not a club that only aspires to be a drawer, we also want to focus on teaching to grow a healthy competitive spirit, competitive of course, but above all educational and training”.
In September, a refreshment point is about to open which – in addition to the classic bar functions – will serve aperitifs and light lunches (club house), while in November the padel courts will be covered. Within 18 months, three brand new resin tennis courts and a real restaurant will complete the centre’s offer.
Ah, I forgot! Next year there will also be a swimming pool, an area dedicated to children for summer camps and which will also serve as a baby sitting area. In addition, there will be a jogging path in the park, with the substantial reforestation of seventy-two plants – it will be a real oasis of sport and sociality in the city.
The eco-sustainable project bears the technical signature of Filippo (and his colleague Stefano) – an environmental and territorial engineer who has masterfully combined his academic and sporting vocations with the necessary Anglo-Saxon pragmatism that cancels the distance between will and action.
As we walk along the colourful padel courts, we see master Francesco Pacinotti at work: “He is the best in the area and our best instructor, category B2 of Tennis, we have been friends for many years”. This is precisely the enthralling, positively contagious spirit of the Chimera Club. ‘Try it to believe it’, said an old advertising medley.
Info: Chimera Club, Via della Chimera, Florence / Tel. 375 5453866 / www.chimeraclub.it / segreteria@chimeraclub.it
The centre is open from 8.00 to 23.00.
