INQUIRER Sports

AT AN AGE when most tennis players are retiring, Maricris Fernandez is making a comeback.

The last Filipina to win a gold medal in the singles of the Southeast Asian Games is taking small steps toward reclaiming her spot in Philippine tennis which she left behind in 2002 when she went to the United States.

“I had injuries then, and sort of got burned out,” said Fernandez, now 30. “I was on the road eight months a year, playing in the United States and then coming back to play SEA Games and then go back to the States.”

Burnout is not a surprising excuse for somebody who started playing at age 7 and piled up titles one after the other, including capturing the No. 1 ranking in Asia among players 14 and under, ranking 25th in the world juniors and 250th in the world in the women’s—the highest ever for an RP netter.

Fernandez dropped everything and finished a business degree and worked as an IT consultant based in Los Angeles.

“I didn’t pick up a racket from then on,” she said.

But even in foreign shores, the tennis itch was hard to ignore. She entered in club tournaments without training and even made the quarterfinals.

“That built up my confidence,” said Fernandez who immediately got calls from patron Oscar Hilado, and even Cecil Mamiit.

“The clamor sort of started, so I said ‘you know what, I’ll try,’” she said. “But before I said yes, I started training the way I used to train. Quit my work and train mornings and afternoons, and then gym in the evening.

“And it turned out OK, it came back to me naturally, and I just needed conditioning to enable me to last three to four hours on the court.”

She came home recently to play $10,000 events later this month, including the Holcim tourney which she used to dominate, and probably the PCA Open which she ruled for four straight years.

“Still, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I asked people for their honest opinion. It won’t hurt my feelings if they find me too old or too laos (has-been),” said Fernandez.

And already there are talks of a SEA Games comeback in Laos next month.

“I don’t mind if they place me as No. 5 player, they will still get 100 percent from me even if I have to bring water to the teammates,” said Fernandez.