Tennis players dream of competing on one of the major Grand Slam courts, and these Filipinos have made that dream a reality.
Tennis is one of the toughest sports to crack as a professional. As an individual sport (for the most part), the chances of making it into the top levels of the sport are slim to begin with, given the amount of competition there is all over the world. But, there are Filipinos who have managed to find success in this competitive sport, even making it to the major Grand Slams.
Felicisimo Ampon
Many consider Felicisimo Ampon the greatest tennis player in Philippine history, as he has garnered the most success from the global scene. He represented the country in many international tournaments throughout the late 40s and early 50s, winning 25 singles titles in his career, and 30 European trophies. He also competed in three out of the four major Grand Slams — the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open — on multiple occasions.
His best-ever finish in a major Grand Slam was in 1952 and 1953. In two consecutive years, Ampon reached the quarter-finals of the French Open at Roland Garros, which was the highest finish of a Filipino tennis player in a Grand Slam.
Raymundo Deyro
Raymundo Deyro was another talented tennis player from the Philippines who competed during the same time as Felicisimo Ampon. The two even went toe-to-toe with one another in the Asian Games, when both Filipinos (who were partners in the doubles tournament) faced off in the singles finals. It was Deyro who came out on top, and thus, in 1958, he came home with two gold medals from the Asian Games for both the singles and doubles tournaments.
In the Grand Slam scene, Deyro has also impressively competed in the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open multiple times. His best finish was a fourth-round exit in the 1953 French Open.
Cecil Mamiit
Cecil Mamiit may be a name you are more familiar with, as in the 2000s, he was arguably the Philippines’ best player in the international tennis scene.
Though he was born in the United States, Mamiit began representing the Philippines as early as 2005 and has won many titles for the flag — 15 Southeast Asian Games medals and two Asian Games medals. On top of this, he has also competed in all four major Grand Slams, making it as far as the second rounds of the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open.
Treat Huey
Filipino-American Treat Huey is one of the Philippines’ most impressive doubles players. He has won eight doubles titles, but more impressively, he reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 18 in 2016.
This specialty for doubles tournaments shined through even on the Grand Slam stage. He’s competed in the doubles tournaments of all four major Grand Slams and even reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2016. On top of this, Huey has also won many medals for the Philippines, including 13 Southeast Asian Games medals.
Grand Slam Juniors
Competing in any of the major Grand Slams is a feat in itself, given the amount of tennis players all over the world who vie for the same limited slots every year. But reaching this stage has to start from somewhere, and these Filipino tennis players are more than worth mentioning, as they have competed in the junior Grand Slam competitions.
Francis Alcantara is one of the Philippines’ most popular tennis players of this generation. He’s competed in both the singles and doubles competitions of all the junior editions of the four major Grand Slams. But, most impressively, he won the Australian Open Junior doubles tournament in 2009.
Jeson Patrombon is another popular tennis player from the Philippines who excels in both singles and doubles competitions. In fact, he’s reached a career-high junior ranking of No. 9, has competed in all four junior editions of the Grand Slams, and reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open junior singles tournament.
Finally, we have the star on the rise, Alex Eala. The young Filipina made waves when she became the Philippines’ first-ever Grand Slam champion after winning the 2022 US Open junior singles title. On top of this, she is currently the highest-ranked Filipino in WTA Tour history and has earned a career-high rank of World No. 185. While she is already a junior champion, she has been aiming to reach the main draw of a major Grand Slam and has competed in the qualifiers of the Australian Open in the last two years.
Banner image of Treat Huey from Wikimedia Commons.
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