The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) is fast-tracking the renovation of the tennis center at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex for the upcoming Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 tournament starting 26 January.
PSC chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio the government agency and Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) are speeding things up to make sure they will be ready to welcome the best tennis players in the world, including world No. 58 Alex Eala.
Eala, 20, is currently in China for the Suzhou Open where she will compete against world No. 70 Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland on Friday.
“We are working on the stands at Rizal Memorial. I think we can pull it off since the competition is still in January,” Gregorio said.
“We collaborated with Philta secretary general in Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco. He’s aggressive, young and a great sports leader.”
Having Eala compete in home soil will be huge for Philippine tennis.
Since the proposed “Manila Open” will take place after the Australian Open, the 20-year-old Eala can spend some time with her family after her stint in the Philippines.
Aside from that, the Rafael Nadal Academy graduate is also slated to earn ranking points to boost her standing since the event will be sanctioned by the WTA.
Gregorio said the PSC is ready to team up with national sports associations (NSA) should they want to stage an international tournament in the country as part of the government’s aggressive drive to boost local sports tourism.
In 2025 alone, the Philippines hosted the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship last September and will host the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships from 20 to 24 November along with the first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup from 21 November to 7 December.
“The PSC is an enabler. As long as there is a good plan, a proper budget and promotes sports tourism, we are more than happy to help,” Gregorio said.
“This is an investment by the government on sports and tourism. The more events we host, sponsors will come and we’ll have more to spend that will help us promote the event and the country.”