Here’s your guide to the upcoming Philippine Women’s Open, the first-ever WTA 125 tournament to be held in the Philippines.
It’s all systems go for the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open.
This is the latest word from Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Patrick Gregorio and Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) secretary-general John Rey Tiangco.
Speaking at the formal press launch of the event on Tuesday afternoon at a hotel in Pasay, Gregorio placed preparations at “85%” with various groups banding together in the traditional Filipino “bayanihan” spirit.
“We’ve mobilized not just the PSC group, we’ve mobilized DPWH, we’ve mobilized the City of Manila, we’ve mobilized PLDT, we’ve mobilized Meralco. Pati yung mga spaghetti wires doon sa Rizal, pinaayos natin. Pati yung mga lamps na pundido, pinaayos natin. Davies Paints, they sponsored the repainting of the fence and everything. So, lahat po, talagang bayanihan.”
Here’s all you need to know about the historic Philippine Women’s Open.
What is the Philippine Women’s Open?
The Philippine Women’s Open is a professional tennis tournament that is the first-ever WTA 125 event to be hosted here. The WTA, or Women’s Tennis Association, is the international organizing body of women’s professional tennis. The WTA’s tournaments are labeled from 125 to 1000; the higher the number, the higher the strength of the playing field.
When and where will it be held?
The whole event will run from Jan. 24-31 at the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, which is currently undergoing a massive facelift.
The first two days will be devoted to the qualifiers where the top four finishers will be awarded slots. The main draw will run from Jan. 26-31.
Who will be playing?
The Philippine Women’s Open is a 32-woman knockout tournament. Among the international names already announced by organizers are former Wimbledon semifinalist and world no. 43 Tatjana Maria of Germany, recent Alex Eala conqueror and world no. 57 Wang Xinyu of China, and world no. 69 Donna Vekic of Croatia, whom Eala recently defeated in the Round of 32 at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The conditions of the Rizal tennis courts are currently undergoing operational testing in a qualifying tournament among Filipino players where two wild card slots in the main draw are up for grabs.
Two other wild card slots have already been awarded to Alex Eala and Philippine number 2 player Tennielle Madis. As mentioned earlier the two-day qualifiers will produce four more participants.
“We have our local players now, who will have a chance to compete against world-class players,” said Tiangco, who added that the 24 remaining slots will be filled once the first few days of the Australian Open qualifiers and main draw are done.
“It all depends on what happens at the Australian Open. The main draw will be 32, but 24 of the 32 are all playing in the Australian Open now. Twelve of them are in the main draw, twelve of them are in the qualifying of the Australian Open. Then we have four wild cards and four more coming from the qualifying.”
Why is it being held the same time as the Australian Open?
This question is being asked by Filipino sports fans after it was announced that Alex Eala’s participation in the Philippine Women’s Open will depend on how deep she goes in the Australian Open, which runs from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1.
But as Tiangco explains, it’s not that simple.
“Actually, we didn’t choose (the dates),” he said. “There’s a whole schedule of WTA for the whole year. And there are just options where you can choose where you want to host.
And we were given two options. This is the first option. And the other option is actually coinciding with the Dubai Open (in mid-February), which is a WTA 1000.
It’s a WTA 1000 and Alex can play there. So there’s actually zero chances of her playing there. That’s why we chose this date because it’s the second week of the Australian Open. A lot of players, top-ranked players would go here because it’s within the region.”
And as former national player Dyan Castillejo explained, the WTA calendar follows a schedule according to geography.
“It starts down under in the Australian Open and then they go to the Middle East, Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi. And then they go Indian Wells. And then Miami Open. So it’s USA and then it goes to Europe for the clay season. And then it goes to England for the grass season. And then back to hardcourt, the US in the hardcourt season.
“So the WTA, they really try to schedule the tournaments so that the players can have the opportunity to play as many tournaments as possible when they travel to a region. So just imagine a European or an American traveling 30 hours to get to Australia. Many of them will lose in the first round. So to not waste their trip, their whole trip, they don’t have to spend a lot, they try to make tournaments within the area like us. Because they can travel from Manila to the Middle East.”
How much are the tickets and where to buy?
For the two-day qualifiers, general admission free-seating tickets are priced at P200. For the main draw, from the Round of 32 up to the quarterfinals, tickets are at P1,000 and will once again be free seating.
For the semifinals of both the singles and doubles, a standard pass will go for P1,500 with reserved seating. A premium pass, with reserved seating in the first 10 rows, will cost P2,000.
“We want it to be accessible and of course affordable to everyone,” Tiangco said. Tickets are available online at SM Tickets and will also be sold at the gate.
Where will it be shown?
As of posting time, organizers said that they are currently talking to potential broadcast partners. What is sure right now is that streaming will be available for free on WTA Unlocked. All you need to access the stream is a free account.
What does this tournament mean for Philippine tennis?
For the local players, it’s a chance to get their name into the WTA rankings, which in turn could lead to more playing opportunities.
“If they get points, then they can play in succeeding WTA tournaments,” Tiangco said.
In the broader landscape, the Philippine Women’s Open is a step towards not only showcasing the country as a venue for bigtime international tournaments, but also a boost for the government’s sports tourism efforts.
“If (the fans are) coming from Australia, I’m sure they want to come to the Philippines not just to watch tennis, but also to have more time to go to the beaches here,” Tiangco said. “Because that’s what usually happens when they’re in that region.”
And eventually, it could lead to the hosting of a higher-level WTA tournament, like a WTA 250.
“WTA 250, I think it has the same court requirements,” Tiangco said. “So, I think it’s still possible, but it has more purpose. And of course, the prize money. Seating capacity for (WTA) 125 is only 750. So, for the 250, I think it’s around 1,000. So, it’s still possible.”
Banner images from Sid Ventura