INQUIRER Sports

DESPITE THE surge of golf, badminton and even pelota at one time, tennis remains a popular sport in the country.

Just visit the UP courts in Diliman, Quezon City. On any morning, players of all ages swing away. Older players huff and puff to stay in step with resident instructors while younger ones whip topspins, clearly imitating their international tennis idols.

The "pulot" (ball) boys are there to pick up your misses, keep scores and get you drinks at even the lowest tip. Unlike caddies, pulot boys don’t get blamed for missed forehands. Pulot boys are only interested in getting the balls quickly so that sets can end swiftly. There are no long walks in tennis where you can mistakenly blame a caddy for your shortcomings.

Besides your pulot boy today could be on the other side of the net the next time when there is a shortage of trainers. Watch out! Revenge could be in their hands.

Tennis is an aerobic workout that demands control of the middle at all times. Moving out of the center after a shot leaves you lunging at a return or barely reaching a well-placed volley. You have to hustle back swiftly to the middle to enable you to dart left or right in an instant for the next shot.

These scenes are repeated many times in tennis courts around the archipelago. There is one in Cagayan de Oro where the action is lively and passionate. I know there are tennis clubs in Pasig and Greenhills. In the eighties, I played tennis passionately at the Celebrity Sports courts, mixing it up in joyful doubles with trainers, pulots or anybody who would play.

Tennis doubles is delightful because you bond with friends and laugh at your mistakes. In the ’90s, I played regular doubles at the Columbian with sports TV director Al Neri, PBL commissioner Chino Trinidad and graphic expert Rey Bonifacio. I can still hear us laughing over missed poaches and double faults.

We have not been short in producing our own champions like Felicisimo Ampon, Johnny Jose, Eddie Cruz, Felix Barrientos, Roland So, the Castillejo sisters and recently Nino Alcantara.

The game is perfect for the natural agility of Filipinos, even in this era of bigger rackets and booming serves.

The Davis Cup matches always draw tennis fans and even those who are just beginning to understand the game's unique scoring of loves and deuces. Tournaments like the Mitsubishi Juniors are also a springboard for Filipino and foreign talents of the future.

As Wimbledon swings into its finish, we wonder what a Philippine international event will do to heighten passion for the sport. Times are hard and sponsorships are hard to come by. A worldwide A H1N1 epidemic isn't helping any and even news about security can be misunderstood by potential foreign players.

And yet a permanent tournament, sponsored by a large multinational company, could draw top caliber international players and crowds of different generations.

I remember producing an exhibition match involving Stefan Edberg, Yannick Noah and others when they were still in their prime and people came to watch despite a storm that threatened to cancel the event. An exhibition between rivals Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe also drew a sellout crowd.

Our tournament doesn't have to be as traditional as Wimbledon, as romantic as the French Open or as slick as the Australian or US Opens. It just has to have great talent that will inspire all of us to improve our own games and keep alive our love for tennis.