MANILA -- The Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) will have a full calendar next year with more competitons, not only for juniors but also for men and women.
In an interview Tuesday, Philta president, lawyer Antonio Cablitas, bared his plan to hold 12 juniors tournaments every month in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
"This is in line with my grassroots tennis development," Cablitas said, adding that there will be two Masters tournaments -- to be held at the start and before the end of the summer vacation.
"I will hold as many tournaments as possible, men’s and ladies tournament. If possible, I will also hold an Open tournament, which will test the capability of our local players as against foreign players and at the same time, give our junior players the chance to play in the bigger league," added Cablitas, who is President Rodrigo Duterte's adviser on investments.
He pointed out that junior players Albert "AJ" Lim Jr. and 2017 PCA Open champion Bryan Otico became better players because they have been given the opportunity to compete abroad.
"My thrust is to develop homegrown tennis players to be exposed internationally," said Cablitas, who had served as a Philta official in the 1980s.
Philta's 2018 calendar of events will start with the Andrada Cup, a juniors tournament in honor of Philta president Salvador Andrada. The competition will be held at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on January 2-7.
Meanwhile, Philta will also send teams to the ITF/Asian 14-Under Development Championships, World Juniors Championships (14-under), Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup (16-under), Davis Cup (men), Fed Cup (women), and the Asian Games next year.
The ITF/Asian 14-Under Development Championships is scheduled in Nonthaburi, Thailand on Feb. 6-16, while the Asia-Oceania Pre-Qualifying Event for the World Juniors Championships will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 5-10 (boys) and in Nonthaburi, Thailand on April 2-7 (girls).
The Junior Fed Cup will also be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 12-17, while the Junior Davis Cup will be held in Kuching, Malaysia on April 9-14.
The Davis Cup will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia on Feb. 2-4, while the Fed Cup will be hosted by Bahrain on February 6-10. (PNA)
