At only 18 years old, Tennielle Madis has the chance to test her skills against older and better opponents in the WTA Tour.
Philippine Women’s Open wild card entrant Tennielle Madis has the opportunity of a lifetime to measure herself against more experienced players as she competes in the main draw of the WTA 125 tournament — a first in her young career.
Madis, 18, was given one of four wild cards in the first-ever Philippine Women’s Open, and will be testing herself against ranked opponents.
Having only recently jumped from the junior circuit to the senior competitions, Madis will hope to ride the momentum of a twin-bronze campaign at the SEA Games 2025 in Thailand.
She finished on the podium in women’s doubles and participated in the team event.
But with an entirely different challenge of going up against more experienced players, Madis said that training has become more intentional on her end.
“It’s like a very intensive training, and then nag-iimprove pa yung mga muscles [ko],” Madis told the media of her preparations at the Philippine Women’s Open press conference on Tuesday.
Madis also has the unique chance of gaining WTA points for the first time in her career — something that she looks forward to before she heads to the US NCAA to compete with the University of Hawaii.
“Oh, [I’m] super super excited kasi makakalaban ko yung mga higher level na players,” she said.
Underdog home bet
With Alex Eala’s participation in the Philippine Women’s Open still up in the air with her stint in the Australian Open, Madis will be one of the focal points of support in the first-of-its-kind tournament for the Filipino fans.
At the moment, she is the only Filipino assured of playing in the main draw of the women’s singles.
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While it comes with some form of pressure, Madis hopes to be able to show a good fight with her countrymen watching.
For the 18-year-old, it’s all about soaking in the whole experience before she steps into a new level in her career.
“My goal is to compete well and I’ll just focus on enjoying every match.” she said.
The main draw of the Philippine Women’s Open begins on January 26, with qualifiers slated on January 24 and 25. Matches will be held at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.