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| Tennielle Madis (3rd from left) is joining the Philippine Women's Open. Ivan Saldajeno |
PASAY—Make that two Filipinas joining the Philippine Women's Open.
Tennielle Madis, the Philippines' number two-ranked women's singles player, has been given a wildcard entry for the said event at the end of the month at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila.
The announcement was made during a pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday at the Lanson Place Ballroom here.
Madis will join world number 49 Alex Eala as the Philippines' representatives to the WTA 125 tournament.
Wildcard spots to the qualifying rounds will be given to two more Filipina tennis players in an ongoing mini-tournament at the said venue, pitting the next seven nationally ranked players.
Madis was initially placed in the pre-qualifiers, but her recent achievements, including a bronze in the Southeast Asian Games, were enough to hand her a main draw wildcard instead.
While Madis is basically assured of a spot in the Philippine Women's Open, Eala remains a pending case since she is also in the Australian Open.
Philippine Tennis Association board member Dyan Castillejo reiterated that Eala can only join the Philippine Women's Open if she does not advance to the fourth round of the grand slam event in Melbourne.
Eala is already in the Australian city as she is playing in the Kooyang Classic, an exhibition event ahead of the Australian Open.
Meanwhile, ticket prices for the Philippine Women's Open were also announced on Tuesday.
Tickets for the qualifying round from Jan. 24-25 are only worth ₱200 each.
Meanwhile, tickets for the first four days of the main draw from Jan. 26-29 are worth ₱1,000 each.
Finally, tickets for the last two days, the singles semis and doubles final on Jan. 30 and the singles final on Jan. 31, are worth ₱1,500 in the standard section and ₱2,000 in the premium section.
