Filipino netters were given a reality check as two of their entries were sent packing in the opening round of the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open (PWO) yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Elizabeth Abarquez, a collegiate standout from National University, suffered an early exit when she absorbed a 0-6, 0-6 setback to Mai Hontama of Japan in the Round of 32 of the singles event of the main draw.

The 26-year-old Hontama, who had a career-high ranking of world No. 105, displayed her skills and composure against Abarquez to complete the humiliating shut out in her first ever WTA tournament.

The Japanese broke Abarquez’s serve in the first set before keeping the pressure in the second to complete the masterful victory and advance to the Round of 16 of this event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association as part of the country’s aggressive sports tourism campaign.

Despite absorbing a double bagel, Abarquez will still take home $1,200 — or roughly P70,772 — for making her WTA main draw debut.

Also getting the door is the duo of Kaye Ann Emana and Justin Anne Maneja, who bowed to Nicole Fossa Huergo of Argentina and No. 98 Darja Semenistaja of Latvia, 2-6, 2-6, in the Last 16 of the women’s doubles event in the first day of this event that danges $115,000 to the winner.

It only took 54 minutes for Fossa Huergo and Semenisstaja to outclass the pair from University of Santo Tomas, giving them $850 or P50,130 in consolation prize.

Still, Emana has a chance to bounce back as she is set to collide with world No. 174 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia in the Last 32 of the singles event.

Tenny Madis is still competing against Southeast Asian Games rival Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand in the Round of 32 while Filipina sensation Alex Eala is facing No. 163 Alina Charaeva of Russia at press time.

On the same note, the local duo of Angeline Alcala and Joana Pena are battling Sara Saito of Japan and Li Yu Yun of Chinese Taipei in the Last 16 of the women’s doubles.

Meanwhile, tennis star Donna Vekic is hoping that the PWO can boost the sport’s further development in the country, paving the way for the next generation players who will follow in the footsteps of Eala.

“It is amazing to ride on the wave on Alex’s fame and what she brings to the country, making it more aware of tennis. I guess that many kids are now starting to play tennis because of her,” said Vekic on the eve of her women’s singles opening round debut on Monday.

“Who knows? You may have another star (like Alex) soon,” added the Paris Olympic Games women’s singles silver medalist of the impact of the inaugural WTA 125 tournament. 

She advised the aspiring young netters “to work hard, be yourself and enjoy the game.”

Ranked No. 72 in the world and seeded fourth, the Paris Olympic Games silver medalist is set to play No. 310 Kyoko Nakamura of Japan in one of the featured matches today.

“I am hoping to play aggressive. A good first serve helps my game, and it helps me a lot to be more consistent. Yeah (I aim) to dominate the court with my play,” Vekic added.

She was pleased about the playing conditions, saying “conditions of the court are nice, it suits me. I am aware a lot of things have been done for all of this to come together. It is very humid so it suits me, too. I am looking forward to it.”

Having lost to Eala twice in a row — first at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand and then at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia just last week — Vekic said that she new what to expect when she plays the hometown favorite.

“Support for Eala has absolutely been insane. After the matches, I told (the Filipino crowd) maybe you’ll adopt me. And I feel that they have,” she said.

“I enjoy a huge crowd. It is a nice atmosphere, even if they are not cheering for me. I am ready for that. But hopefully, the Filipinos will support me here, at least until I play Alex.”