(PRIMASPORT) ROME – Record attendance at the Foro Italico at the opening of the Village of Health, Sport and Solidarity for the 16th edition of Tennis & Friends – Health and Sport. An event packed with innovations: the first White Night of Prevention; "Salute a Bordo," a bus with a health station dedicated to the homeless; the Amatrice Village to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the earthquake; and "Salute Donna," with check-ups and specialist consultations during Pink Prevention Month. Over 500 healthcare professionals, more than 200 stations dedicated to free visits and consultations, approximately 80 specialist areas and 85 healthcare facilities, 21 scientific societies and associations, including AIOM and SIU, and the SIU Urology Foundation Onlus: these are the numbers of the Health Village, which already welcomed thousands of citizens within the first hours of its opening, setting an all-time record. In addition to the crowd of dignitaries, several long-time ambassadors of the event were present.
«"Reaching the 16th edition of Tennis & Friends means continuing to grow a project that, for over fifteen years, has brought prevention out of hospitals and closer to people, with a particular focus on young people, because building a culture of health means educating children from school age on awareness, prevention, and care for their well-being. This event attracts increasingly large attendances every year and is made possible thanks to the collaboration between the public and private sectors," stated Prof. Giorgio Meneschincheri, founder and president of Tennis & Friends – Health and Sport.
Born in 2011 from an idea of Prof. Meneschincheri, a specialist in preventive medicine at the Agostino Gemelli University Hospital and a lecturer at the Catholic University of Rome and at Temple University in Philadelphia, Tennis&Friends in fifteen years of activity has offered approximately 450,000 free check-ups, recording more than 1.000.000 of total attendance at events.
In 2025 the project also received a praise of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, in recognition of the commitment to health promotion and prevention. (PRIMASPORT)
