Macie Carlos and Bliss Bayking hope to display top form as they slug it out with 46 of the best and rising junior players in Asia-Pacific in the WTA Future Stars at the Kallang Tennis Center this week in Singapore.
Carlos and Bayking gained spots in the top-level event featuring the girls’ Under-14 and U-16 categories by topping the gruelling Cebuana Lhuillier Girls’ Tennis Challenge at the Makati Sports Club recently.
“I’m confident Carlos and Bayking will perform well in the tournament. I have seen how they play in the Cebuana Tennis Challenge and I am convinced that they have what it takes to go head-to-head with some of the region’s elite players,” said Unified Tennis Philippines’ president Jean Henri Lhuillier, who also stressed the importance of grassroots programs and tournaments made available nationwide as a means to further hone the skills of Filipino junior players.
In representing the Philippines in the elite junior event, which serves as a prelude to the WTA Finals featuring the world’s top eight women pros, Carlos and Bayking also received comprehensive travel insurance from Malayan Insurance.
On their way to the WTA Future Stars tilt, Carlos beat Mica Emana, 6-1, 6-2, to capture the 14-and-under crown while Bayking held off Justine Maneja, 6-4, 6-1, in the 16-U finals of the UTP-sanctioned event that drew the country’s top junior players.
The WTA Future Stars junior tournaments feature competition for young girls across Asia-Pacific with a vision to promote high-level athlete development, health, fitness and empowerment of women through the sport of tennis.
Each regional WTA Future Stars event includes competition at two levels—14 and under and 16 and under—with tournaments set to take place in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and other regions across Asia-Pacific.”‹