Boost for tennis

Is there hope for tennis in the Philippines?

The records show that in Davis Cup competition, Philippine tennis has been on a horrendous tailspin since 1991 when the country made it to the elite World Group of 16. From 1992 to 1997, the Philippines was classified as a Group 1 contender in the Asia/Oceania zone. Then, the ranking slipped to Group 2 from 1998 to 2000. This year, the Philippines was relegated to Group 3 status in a shameful downgrade that’s unprecedented in national tennis history.

At the recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur, Filipino netters failed to strike gold or silver, marking the first time the country was blanked in eight years. The Philippines pocketed three golds, two silvers and three bronzes at the 1991 SEA Games in Manila. The harvest improved to three golds, four silvers, and three bronzes in 1993. Two years later, it was a modest haul of no gold, a silver, and four bronzes. In 1997, the Philippines took no gold, a silver, and two bronzes. And two years ago, Maricris Fernandez salvaged the only gold as the country added two silvers and a bronze. Then came the Kuala Lumpur debacle which produced no gold, no silver, and only two bronzes.

As of last Oct. 15, only four locals were ranked in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors division – No. 143 Czarina Arevalo in singles, No. 306 Joseph Victorino in singles, No. 850 Mark Contreras, and No. 877 Laurence Magaway in doubles.

Cecil Mamiit, a Fil-Am, is ranked No. 90 in the Association of Tennis Professionals ladder but won’t play for the country in international competitions unless the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association (Philta) coughs up the equivalent of about P8 Million to guarantee his appearance per tournament.

It’s not as if the country has a dearth of talents. There are about 800,000 tennis players throughout the archipelago–compared to some 1.6 milion in Australia, 14.1 million in the US, 3 million in Japan, 140,000 in Singapore, and 800,000 in Taiwan. But only 0.1 percent of the total tennis-playing population or 800 players participate in Philta-sanctioned tournaments.

Last year, Philta sanctioned 15 open and 45 juniors tournaments. As of last Oct. 26 this year, the numbers dropped to 7 open and 44 juniors competitions.

There are 816 tennis courts, including 46 indoor, in the country or a player to court ratio of 613 to 1. Only a few Filipino coaches are certified by the United States Professional Tennis Registry and no association of coaches exists. Only two Filipino umpires are ITF certified White Badge holders. Among the issues confronting coaches are lack of regular employment, turf problems, wanton piracy in recruiting prospects, and no mutual help systems.

Only four Philippine schools consider tennis a major sport and only six offer a Physical Education program for tennis. Only seven of 12 schools with high school teams maintain an elementary squad. So the chances of producing quality players from the school system are low.

Ah, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Or at least, that’s what a group aptly called "Futures" insists.

The Futures Tennis Scholarship Foundation was organized last July. It hasn’t been formally launched– promoters are planning a coming-out party next month to announce their futures.

The man behind Futures is 38-year-old political lawyer Al Agra, an Ateneo professor. Al and wife Evangeline are avid tennis players. Al’s love affair started when he attended a tennis summer camp as a high school player. He’s since been hooked to the sport. His wife is a Class A open club player. Their children–Jessica, 10, and Noel, 8 – are both competitors. Jessica is ranked No. 2 in the country’s 12-and-under category and has played in two international tournaments so far. She was part of a Filipino delegation that brought back 18 gold medals in singles and doubles from a pair of jousts in Malaysia a few weeks ago.

For Al, tennis is a family thing. He plays three or four times a week – whenever he’s not teaching in the classroom or lawyering in court. Al says he expects his daughter to start beating him soon – they played to a tiebreak recently but he still held on to win. Jessica has already defeated his wife, he proudly notes.

Futures aims to promote the development of tennis by implementing programs, undertaking projects, and providing assistance to beneficiaries and partners. The initial goal is to raise P1.1 Million for the overseas trips of junior players, the recruitment of provincial players to compete in Manila, the establishment of an annual tennis award mechanism, and the training of indigent tennis players.

Al says Futures has no intention to displace any existing tennis organization. Futures supports anyone or any group related to tennis, he stresses. Al says he’s not in competition with tennis leaders like Philta head Buddy Andrada, Ben Natividad of Sporting Edge, and Philta’s harshest critic Jovy Mamawal who are all his friends. Futures is an ally, a support group, of all things tennis. One of Al’s selfless projects is maintaining Philta’s website.

Futures’ governing board is made up of Al and his wife, Domingo Feliciano, Luisito Hipolito, Remigio Flores, Victoriano Nalus, and Lisa Go. The advisory council is composed of Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Wigberto Tañada, Commissioner Juanita Cueto, Jose Claudio, Johnny Jose, Felix Barrientos, Gladys Imperial, Jennifer Saret, Dr. Neal Orteza, and Cook Ben Ngo. An enthusiastic supporter on the sidelines is "The Weakest Link" host Edu Manzano.

To ensure the integrity of Futures, Al and his wife – as incorporators–signed a joint undertaking where they vowed not to facilitate, authorize, or allow the use and disbursements of funds in the foundation for the benefit of their children who happen to be budding junior players.

Despite the problems that hound the sport, Al believes there’s a future – make that "Futures" – in Philippine tennis.