The country’s premier tennis organization has given recognition to 2019’s tennis superstars who have brought home glory to the Philippines in a recent awarding ceremony held last January 7 in Makati.
The ceremony was led by the organization’s top honcho, Jean Henri Lhuillier who is also the President and CEO of microfinancial services giant, Cebuana Lhuillier.
Lhuillier mentioned in his short address to the athletes how their triumphs in the sport they play are able to inspire a lot of Filipino youth on getting into tennis and how many more Filipinos are developing an appreciation for the sport as well.
“This recognition also hopes to ignite the fire in more athletes to perform above and beyond, I hope that more Filipino tennis players will follow in your footsteps.” added the longtime sports patron.
Among the athletes present was Alexandra “Alex” Eala, who has earned the title “Philippine Tennis Phenom” after clinching the championship in various international tournaments such as 2019 ITF Asia Oceania 14&U Junior Qualifying Tournament in Malaysia, Under-18 ITF Juniors Grade A Singles Tournament in South Africa, and in the 2019 Junior Orange Bowl Tennis Championships in USA, more so, Eala has also achieved an all-time high ranking of number 9 in the ITF World Junior Rankings.
Joining Alex is Francis “Nino” Casey Alcantara and Jeson Patrombon, who just came from their gold medal win in the 30th South East Asian Games for the Men’s Doubles Tennis event.
Lhuillier also awarded Raul Guerrero for his contribution to the longstanding Cebuana Lhuillier Age Group Tennis, which has been continuously reaching more and more youth and has been providing them with an avenue to play tennis in their own hometowns. The recognition honored Raul Guerrero for his work in laying the foundation for the country’s most successful tennis tourneys.
“I hope our athletes continue to do us proud this 2020, with the dawn of a new decade, I’m more than sure we will see more of what they have to offer and see a more vibrant tennis community for this country,” said Lhuillier.
The Unified Tennis Philippines is backed by Cebuana Lhuillier and Palawan Pawnshop.
