Filipino-American Christopher Papa primed himself for his much-awaited singles showdown against Alberto Lim Jr. by teaming up with doubles maestro Casey Alcantara to capture the men’s doubles crown at the Palawan Open 2026 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center late Saturday.

Papa and Alcantara put on a masterclass to repel the formidable duo of Eric Jed Olivarez and Nilo Ledama, escaping with a hard-fought 7-6(4), 6-3 victory.

Papa’s superb all-around game blended seamlessly with Alcantara’s doubles expertise. The tandem imposed their will early, allowing them to cushion a fierce, late first-set comeback from Olivarez and Ledama.

After dropping their serve in the opening game of the second set, Papa and Alcantara roared back with a three-game blitz. 

Olivarez and Ledama threatened to turn the tide by evening the score at 3, but the Papa-Alcantara duo countered with a brilliant three-game sweep — highlighted by a crucial break in the eighth game — before wrapping up the match and the championship with a flawless love game.

The doubles triumph, worth P150,000, served as a big confidence booster and the perfect dress rehearsal for Papa as he was set to face the country’s premier player, Lim, for the men's singles crown on Sunday at 5 p.m. for a juicy P300,000 purse and the honor of becoming the inaugural champion of this annual tournament on the line.

The Palawan Open 2026 — sanctioned by Philta and the Universal Tennis Ranking (UTR) and sponsored by the Palawan Group of Companies — is presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, Gentry Timepieces and Bagong Pilipinas. The event is designed to be held annually across various premier tennis cities in the country.

While Alcantara underscored his doubles supremacy by sweeping both tandem events, it was his mixed doubles partnership with 30-year-old veteran Marian Capadocia that provided the day's biggest drama.

In a grueling, pressure-packed marathon finish, Capadocia and Alcantara outlasted Tennielle Madis and Ronard Joven, 6-2, 4-6, 16-14, to bag the mixed doubles crown. The thrilling, razor-thin tiebreak decision pocketed the duo P100,000 and gave Capadocia her own massive psychological edge heading into the singles finale at presstime.

Capadocia is raring to avenge her semifinal loss to Madis in last month’s Philta National Open with her gritty mixed doubles victory setting the stage for their women's singles title collision at 3 p.m. on Sunday.