Tennis chief to develop lady netters for Asiad

The Philippine tennis team vying this month in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, will be an all-male squad. But Oscar Hilado, the chairman of the board of Philippine Tennis Association, is setting a goal of developing women players who will represent the country in future Asiad events. “I think we can develop future lady players who will represent the country in the Asian Games," said Hilado. “That would be four years from now, so I believe we still have time." The PHL netters who will play in the quadrennial meet are veteran Davis Cuppers and former Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Cecil Mamiit and Johnny Arcilla, Fil-Am Treat Huey, and US-based Pinoy Ruben Gonzales.

Hilado, who has supported the elite tennis tournaments for the past 15 years, believes the country has a lot of talented women players capable of joining the Philippine tennis team in the future. “We have a lot of talented players. In fact, there were some Fil-foreign players who have competed in the elite tournaments we’re holding now," said Hilado. Hilado was referring to Fil-German netter Katharina Lehnert and Fil-Am Chanelle Van Nguyen, two players who saw action in the ICTSI-ITF Women’s Circuit Week 1 and are currently competing in the PLDT-SMART/ITF Women’s Circuit Week 2. Lehnert is currently based in Hanover, Germany while Van Nguyen is based in the United States. Both players, according to Hilado, have strong potential for inclusion in future national teams. Prospective local lady tennis players are the Patrimonio sisters — Christine and Clarice — who have trained in Europe, as well as Tamitha Nguyen and Marinel Rudas. With the development of players in the Davis Cup and grassroots level already being taken care of, Hilado has decided to focus more on the elite competitions. “Milo is focused on developing tennis in the grassroots level while Jean Henri Lhuillier is the one in charge of getting players for the Davis Cup. I’m more focused on the elite tournaments, which is why we’re bringing the ITF events like the ICTSI-Women’s Circuit 1, the PLDT-SMART Women’s Circuit 2 and the Phima Juniors Tennis Championships here," said Hilado. - Rey Joble/KY, GMANews.TV