As the sport continues to gain traction in the Philippines.
Amid the continued rise of Filipina tennis star Alex Eala on the international stage, with the 21-year-old having recently won the US Open and clinched a bronze medal in the 2026 Asian Games, the Philippines is also becoming much more prominent in the sport’s calendar.
This, as the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has assigned a WTA 250 tournament that will happen in the country in 2027, on top of the sophomore edition of the Philippine Women’s Open, a WTA 125 tourney, in January.
In their statement, Philippine Tennis Association (PhilTA) Secretary General John Rey Tiangco and Board Member Dyan Castillejo confirmed the news.
“We’re happy to announce and confirm late last night we threshed out some details with our franchise holder of WTA 250. We’re going to have WTA 250 next year, 2027, late October, early November,” Tiangco said.
This comes after the WTA officially approved Manila’s hosting application the week prior, with event set to be organized in partnership with Octagon. The Philippines has also notably secured a three-year contract for the still untitled WTA 250 tournament.
“So even now, we’d like to invite all the international players, hopefully to put the Philippines in your calendar. The Philippines is very excited to be hosting you again,” added Castillejo, who is also a former international-caliber tennis star.
She also noted the scheduled of the events, stating, “We’re having a WTA 125 still in January, the second week of the Australian Open. And then we’re going to have a 250 end of October, first week of November.”
More details about the event are set to be disclosed in the coming days.
They also thanked local sports officials for their support in making the Manila hosting of another WTA event happen.
“This tournament is such a big boost to our local athletes also who have a chance to compete against the world’s best in tennis,” Castillejo added.
For his part, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Patrick Gregorio said: “That’s very exciting and we promise to upgrade Rizal (Memorial Tennis Center). But if there are other destinations in the very near future, we can definitely collaborate with them and make it a fantastic open for the Philippines.”
“When we host sports tourism events, we make sure to upgrade the facilities,” he added.
