Elite cast booked for Philippines Women’s Open

MANILA, Philippines, January 14 ------ An elite cast led by Germany’s Tatjana Maria and, schedule permitting, Filipina pride Alex Eala, makes up the historic WTA125 Philippine Women’s Open that’s “almost ready” to welcome the tennis world at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Tennis Center in Manila on Jan. 26 to 31.

Maria, 38, a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2022, is the highest ranked player in the 32-player main draw at WTA No. 42 with a career-best of No. 36 in July last year. She will be the heavy favorite followed by China’s Wang Xinyu, No. 43, and Eala, at new career-high No. 49, as announced by the WTA, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) during the official launch at the Lanson Place in Pasay.

Overall, 24 players for the Manila event will also play in the Australian Open including Eala. Staging a WTA 125 event in Manila was inspired by Eala’s sensational rise on the world stage. The 20-year-old Eala, however, is listed as a wildcard as her stint depends on the result of her campaign in the Australian Open main draw firing off on Jan. 18. The whole country is rallying behind Eala’s campaign in Melbourne even if it forces her to miss the first-ever home tournament in a booming career. But for Eala, it’s first things first and that’s the Kooyong Classic also in Melbourne, where she’ll figure in a rematch against WTA No. 70 and Paris Olympics silver medalist Donna Vekic of Croatia today at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.

An annual by-invite-only exhibition tourney, the Kooyong Classic serves as Eala’s final build-up for the AO, where she earned a direct entry in the main draw as a Top-50 player. Eala beat Vekic, also a 2025 Wimbledon semifinalist, at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand last week, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, en route to a semifinal finish following a 7-5, 5-7, 4-6 defeat to Xinyu.

Aside from Eala and Xinyu, Vekic is also in the Philippine Women’s Open along with Argentina’s Solana Sierra (WTA No. 64), New Zealand’s Lulu Sun (No. 85), Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima (No. 87) and Uzbekistan’s Polina Kudermetova (No. 150), all of whom Eala has faced in previous tournaments. Joining Eala as a Filipina representative in the main draw is the country’s second-ranked player in Tennielle Madis, who has won six ITF junior titles and had a stint in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Eala, who has just given the Philippines its first women’s gold in the SEA Games in 26 years, and Madis steered the women’s team to a bronze medal in Thailand last month. “My mindset is to do well. No pressure but rest assured that I’m gonna do my very best,” said the 18-year-old Madis. With all the players on board, so is the venue at RMSC, which is under massive renovation and is now at 85 percent completion. Pre-qualifying rounds, in fact, are underway.

Source: philstar.com