Record turnout spices up Olivarez national juniors tennis tilt

MANILA, Philippines – With a record number of participants, the Mayor Eric Olivarez National Junior Tennis Championships begin Thursday with 416 entries competing for top honors and ranking points across nine age categories at the Olivarez Sports Center and Parañaque courts in Sucat.

To accommodate the large number of entries from all over, organizers have transformed the Group 1 tournament presented by Dunlop to a two-week event, highlighting the strong response to the Palawan Pawnshop nationwide tennis program.

The tournament features four boys’ age division (12, 14, 16 and 18-and-under) with 64-player fields, while the 10-and-under unisex and the four girls’ categories have 32-player draws each.

The first batch of matches will play through June 9, with the second scheduled for June 13 to 16 at both venues.

“This is the biggest gathering of junior players, necessitating a two-week format,” said Bobby Mangunay, tournament director of the PPS-PEPP program initiated by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Highlighting the two-week tennis festival is the Open men’s singles and doubles, set for June 8 to 16 at the Olivarez Sports Center. The Legends men’s doubles, featuring various age divisions (30s, 40s, 50s and 60s), and the women’s doubles for 35s and 45s age categories are slated for June 7-9 and 14-16, also at the OSC.

Collegiate players will also showcase their skills in the men’s and women’s singles and doubles from June 6-9 and June 13-16 at both courts.

The Classified individual and team events, which began last weekend, will resume on June 15-16 at the PTC.

Leading the girls’ 16-and-U category are Jana Diaz, Sandra Bautista, Joy Ansay and Jan Cadee Dagoon, with Diaz, Bautista, Ansay and Sanschena Francisco also expected to vie for the premier division crown. Dagoon also heads the 14-and-U roster, including Ave Maria Policarpio, Ayl Gonzaga and Izabelle Camcam.

Notable players in the girls’ 12-and-U are Nadine Seno, Lilith Rufino, Athena Liwag and Carolina Fandino.

Yuan Torrente, Raven Licayan, Jacob Dizon and Joaquin Dacyon are the players to watch in the youngest division of the event, which is sanctioned by Philta and supported by Universal