The Philippines earned strong marks from the Women’s Tennis Association after successfully staging its first-ever WTA tournament, a milestone that has opened the door to hosting bigger international events in the future.
WTA supervisor Cristina Romero Contla said the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open, a WTA 125 tournament, showcased the country’s potential as a reliable host, citing both the quality of organization and the strong fan turnout at the newly renovated Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
“The crowd was excited. We sometimes had two full sessions, and we even had to increase the capacity of the stands,” Contla said.
Colombian Camila Osorio claimed the singles’ title, while Eudice Chong of Hong Kong and Liang En-shuo of Chinese Taipei captured the doubles crown, capping a tournament that exceeded expectations.
Contla praised the local organizers, including the Philippine Sports Commission, for raising the standard of the event’s staging, noting that the overall execution was above average by WTA benchmarks.
“These are standards that could allow the Philippines to host higher-level events, even up to the WTA 250,” she said. “In the future, we can still increase the capacity of the stands. The response of the fans was incredible.”
The WTA Tour is structured into four main levels, with Grand Slams at the top, followed by WTA 1000, WTA 500, and WTA 250 tournaments, each offering increasing ranking points, prestige, and player participation.
While international officials were relied upon for the inaugural event, Contla said the next step is to develop more local tournament officials capable of handling international meets, a move that would further strengthen the country’s bid to host more WTA events in the coming years.
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