Andrada Cup kicks off PH tennis 2016

BERTHS to the national junior team are at stake when the 27th Andrada Cup age-group tennis championships fires off today at Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The event, held in honor of long-time Philippine Tennis Association president and now Philippine Sports Commissioner Salvador Andrada, has been a bedrock for fresh talents for years.

The meet has produced the likes of Francis Casey Alcantara, Alberto Lim Jr. and Jeson Patrombon, now among the backbones of the national team.

“It is a commitment to the sport of tennis that we hold this every start of the year,” said Andrada. “As long as we have children taking up the sport, we will always have chance for its growth and development.”

Winners in the meet will be considered for inclusion in the Philippine team that will compete in the Junior Davis Cup, Junior Fed Cup and the World Junior Tennis Championships slated later this year.

Andrada said top junior players will see action, including those who competed in the season-ending PSC-Philta national age-group championships.

Among them are Rafaella Villanueva, Manuel Balce, Miles Vitaliano, Chris Prulla, Alexandra Eala, Nio Tria and Aljon Talatayod.

The meet will also serve as one of the build ups for the $75,000 ITF Challenger event slated Jan. 18 to 23, also at Rizal Memorial.

Among the foreign entries are World No. 121 Radu Albot of Moldova and Andrea Arnaboldi of Italy (158th).