MANILA – Philippine tennis has gotten a big boost this month with the start of the 1st Metro Manila Open at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Complex in Plaza Dilao, Paco, Manila.

The Metro Manila Open by PCA, which is sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association, is holding nine events from May 1 to 28 with free admission to the public.

The age group competitions kickstarted the tournament, followed by the ladies’ team tennis (age category), intercollegiate, men’s team tennis, and qualifying rounds.

The competition is set to intensify further towards the last week with the events in men’s singles, ladies’ singles, men’s doubles, ladies’ doubles, and mixed doubles.

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“This is all for the development of tennis in the Philippines. And I myself am a national coach for tennis as well so we know the need of having this kind of competition for players to be able to have a goal in their training, in their endeavors with the sport,” organizing committee member Chris Cuarto told ABS-CBN News.

During the opening day, with age groupers competing on the indoor and outdoor PCA shell courts, tournament director Tony Quiza mentioned the importance of honing young talents.

“Ang gustong ma-achieve ng Metro Manila Open ay makatulong sa mga kabataan na mabuhay muli ang tennis sa Pilipinas,” he shared.

The local tennis scene was greatly hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, so the organizing committee decided to come up with another big tournament alongside the PCA Open.

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“It is a brainchild of the PCA Open,” Cuarto said of the long-time tennis tilt that is set to hold its 40th edition later this year.

“At first, we were trying to make it as similar as the PCA Open. But as the time was running, we were able to put up more funds for the tournament. Eventually, we were able to come up with more prize money for the tournament which is also very good for the players," the national coach added.

The men’s singles open champion is set to take home PHP 300,000 while his runner-up will receive PHP 150,000.

Other top cash prizes are PHP 150,000 for the ladies’ singles winner, PHP 80,000 for the men’s doubles victors, PHP 50,000 for the ladies’ doubles champions, and PHP 50,000 as well for the mixed doubles titlists.

The total prize pot is PHP 1,779,000 for men’s singles, ladies’ singles, men’s doubles, ladies’ doubles, and mixed doubles.

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Cuarto then thanked the players and enthusiasts who have shown support for the Metro Manila Open by PCA.

He also expressed gratitude to the tournament’s sponsors, which includes several local government units, and highlighted the importance of the PCA community to the new tennis event.

“I think the PCA community played a very key role in putting up all the necessary things that we need to come up with the 1st Metro Manila Open,” he said.

When asked about the response to their call for registrants, Cuarto and Quiza beamed about the “good turnout” of participants and wished for the Metro Manila Open to have succeeding editions.

“Hopefully, it will become a yearly tournament here in PCA,” remarked Cuarto.

For updates and more information, visit the PCA Open page on Facebook.

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