Triumph for Philippine tennis

Despite the suspension of the Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) by both International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the country’s tennis superstar Alex Eala continues to wave the national flag proudly in international competitions as if to remind the world that politics will never bring down the purity of sports. PHILTA was suspended by ITF in November 2020, prompting POC to follow suit in saving the Philippine team from disqualification in events like the SEA Games. POC’s move allowed itself to endorse Filipino tennis players for international matches in PHILTA’s absence.

With POC’s backing, the Philippines saw action in tennis at the SEA Games in Hanoi last May and brought home a gold, silver and four bronzes. Treat Huey and Ruben Gonzales took the gold in men’s doubles while Jeson Patrombon and Casey Alcantara settled for the silver. Eala claimed bronzes in women’s singles, mixed doubles and women’s team. The men’s team also bagged a bronze.

POC president Bambol Tolentino yesterday confirmed that PHILTA remains suspended. POC’s suspension is hinged on ITF’s suspension so that once ITF lifts its suspension, so will POC.  ITF’s suspension was described by PHILTA president Atty. Tony Cablitas as “flawed legally and factually.” Cablitas, however, respected ITF’s decision and has complied with ITF’s order of revising PHILTA’s Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws to take into account a nationwide representation of membership. Last month, Cablitas submitted the required revisions to ITF with copies furnished to Anil Khanna of the Asian Tennis Federation, PSC and POC.

“Within the next two weeks, I plan to ask ITF what’s next,” said Cablitas, who turns 74 tomorrow. “We’re reaching out to all tennis stakeholders for the sake of our sport. We want to be inclusive. The solution isn’t to destroy PHILTA. We’re reorganizing to form 15 regions across the country under which will be clusters of provinces. I’m ready to step down if only to push through with this platform of unity.”

Meanwhile, Eala has mesmerized not only Philippine sports but also the global landscape. The 5-9 lefthander who’s only 17 won the US Open girls singles title by sweeping six matches without dropping a set in New York last weekend. She was pushed to the limit twice, battling to 7-6 sets but still wound up unscathed. Her victims were, in order, Annabelle Xu of Canada, Nina Vargova of Slovakia, Taylah Preston of Australia, Mirra Andreeva of Russia, Victoria Mboko of Canada and Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic. For a 10th seed, Eala’s feat was remarkable.

Eala described the victory as very meaningful. “This is my job (and) I’m passionate about it,” said Eala on PlayItRightTV. “I focused point by point and did everything I could to hold on physically and mentally. I just focused on my game and not the other side of the court so I wouldn’t be distracted.” In her on-court remarks after clinching the final, Eala spoke in Filipino and said, “hindi lang (ito) panalo ko, panalo nating lahat.” She dedicated the triumph to the future of the Philippines. French coach Adrien Veseux said he was proud of Eala and grateful for the support of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain where she has trained the last four years. “Before the US Open, Alex worked three weeks on fitness precision, six of seven days in a week,” he said. “It was tough for Alex as we focused more on fitness than tennis.” The hard work paid off.