Pinays get Holcim/ITF wild cards

MANILA, Philippines - Local tennis gets a big boost with four international tournaments lined up in the next four weeks starting with the Holcim/ITF Women’s Circuit Week I firing off Nov. 9 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The qualifying sign-in is on Saturday (Nov. 7) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Philta office c/o ITF supervisor Puneet Gupta of India with the qualifying matches set on Nov. 8 and 9, and the main draw matches to start Nov. 10.

The Philippines has been awarded four wild cards in the main draw of the event sanctioned by the Internationial Tennis Federation, including the comebacking Maricris Fernandez, Riza Zalameda, Anna Christine Patrimonio plus one more to be named later.

The circuit is sponsored by Holcim, PLDT/Smart and Phinman and backed by Tecnifibre Balls, the official tournament balls, Viva Mineral Water, Powerade and the Philippine Sports Commision.

The quest for top honors and ITF ranking points in women’s tennis resumes on Nov. 17-21 with the staging of the PLDT/Smart Women’s Circuit Week 2 with the qualifying sign-in set Nov. 14, also at the Philta office.

The qualifying matches will be held on Nov. 15-16. Main draw matches will unfold on Nov. 17 with Fernandez, Zalameda and Patrimonio again given wild cards for the tournament.

Action heats up in Week 3 when the Phinma International Juniors Tennis Championships Week I (ITF Grade 4) is held Nov. 24-29. The qualifying sign-in is set Nov. 21 with the qualifiers slated on Nov. 22-23. The main draw sign-in will be held Nov. 23 with the matches to start Nov. 24.