New age-group tennis season unwraps with Actifit National open

A mix of the young and old, plus the current crop, gears up for a fierce battle in the next two weeks as the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala tennis tournament kicks off its new season Friday with the Actifit Open national age-group in Valenzuela City.

Alexa Milliam, who dominated the last quarter of last year’s edition of the country’s biggest talent search, banners the cast in the girls’ 14-and-16-and-under divisions, confident of her chances against a souped up field in the Group 1 tournament presented by Dunlop.

Mariel Jarata, Mica Emana and Jiana Hernandez set out to stop the Pontevedra, Negros Occidental ace in the 14-U section while Franchezka Malaki, Romika Custodio and Hernandez are tipped to spoil Milliam’s bid in the 16-U category of the week-long event which drew 200 players in nine age-group divisions at the Actifit Sports Center.

The event will also feature the Legends division on Jan. 19.