Philippines ecstatic for historic hosting of WTA 125 Open tourney
MANILA, Philippines — An elite cast led by German legend Tatjana Maria and hopefully, Filipina pride Alex Eala, makes up the historic WTA 125 Philippine Women's Open that's “almost ready” to welcome the tennis world for the first time ever at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Tennis Center in Manila from January 26-31.
Maria, the oldest Women's Tennis Association (WTA) champion at 38 years old, is the highest ranked player in the 32-player main draw at WTA No. 42, serving as the heavy title favorite in the historic Manila staging. She is 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 on Tuesday.
Overall, there are 24 listed players in Manila who will also play in the Australian Open including Eala, making it a star-studded event fit for the country's trailblazing hosting of the women's professional tennis tourney inspired by Eala's sensational rise.
The 20-year-old Eala, however, is listed as a wildcard as her stint still depends on the result of her campaign in the Australian Open, which fires off on January 18 in Melbourne. The whole country is rallying behind Eala's deep campaign in Australian Open, albeit at the expense of her possible absence in the first-ever home tournament of her booming career should she get the past opening week of the said Slam or the first three rounds.
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 Australian Open, where she earned a direct entry in the main draw as a Top-50 player for the first time after multiple qualifying round exits as a wildcard since her jump from a former world No. 2 junior to the pro women's circuit.
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 entered in the Philippine Women's Open along with Argentina's Solana Sierra (WTA No. 64), New Zealand's Lulu Sun (WTA No. 85), Japan's Moyuka Uchijima (WTA No. 87) and Uzbekistan's Polina Kudermetova (WTA No. 150), all whom Eala already in other tournaments.
Joining Eala as a Filipina representative in the main draw is the country's second-ranked player in Tennielle Madis, who already won six ITF junior titles and had stint in the Billie Jean King Cup. Eala, who delivered the first women's gold in 26 years, and Madis towed the Philippines to a bronze medal in the women's team event of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand.
"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 already on board, so does the venue at RSMC under massive renovation since last year that's now at 85% completion. Pre-qualifying rounds, in fact, are underway there with PSC chairman said Patrick "Pato" Gregorio assuring its 100% completion by January 20-21, three days before the qualifying rounds by the weekend prior.
"We're all set. We're excited to showcase the iconic RMSC full of history, drama, success and inspiration of the Filipino athletes," said Gregorio as the City of Manila, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Meralco, PLDT and Davies Paint in refurbishing the entire RSMC and the surrounding grounds, which will be transformed into a gigantic tennis park.
"We're excited and happy to be here as for the first time, we will be in the world tournament map of tennis. It's almost ready. We're confident in our courts and all of the WTA requirements. We're confident in finishing it in time," added Navotas City mayor and PHILTA secretary general John Rey Tiangco, eyeing a passing mark for the Philippines in order to upgrade hosting to WTA 250 next year.
Meanwhile, the ticket selling will start at 12 midnight Wednesday, with the PSC and PHILTA capping it from only P200 to P1500 for affordability a bid to bring tennis closer to the Filipino patrons. Junior players who have played in any PHILTA tournaments all over the country will be given free tickets.
For broadcast, the PSC and PHILTA are still in talks with a couple of media giants although the entire tournament will be livestreamed for free at the WTA website.
Also in the works are the professional training of 36 ball kids, 30 line umpires, five chair umpires, one chief umpire, one referee and one WTA supervisor, who will make up the core of the ground operations during the week-long tournament featuring 12 daily matches for the qualifiers and four daily in the main draw.
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