The inaugural Philippine Women’s Open is set to serve up world-class tennis as former world No. 2 and Paris Olympic silver medalist Donna Krevic of Croatia and resurgent German veteran Tatjana Maria, ranked No. 45, headline a strong list of early entrants for the Jan. 26 kickoff at the newly refurbished Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Both stars appear on the provisional 24-player list released over the weekend by the Women’s Tennis Association for the 32-player main draw of the country’s first WTA 125 tournament.
Krevic, who reached the French Open semifinals in 2024 and was ranked No. 2 at the start of last year, is currently ranked No. 69 but remains a marquee player to watch in the blue-ribbon event organized by the Philippine Tennis Association with support from the Philippine Sports Commission.
On Friday, PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio and PHILTA officials inspected the facility to check on the final touches of the refurbishment.
“22 days to go before WTA 125. So no Christmas break, no New Year break. No holiday break. Everybody’s here, PHILTA is here, [PSC] Commissioners, PSC people are here,” said Gregorio.
“We’re all here just to make sure we transform Rizal Tennis [Center] as a showcase for the first-ever hosting of the WTA 125 in Manila.”
A product of the famed IMG Academy founded by legendary coach Nick Bolletieri, Krevic, 29, has captured four career titles and amassed $10,217,035 (around P601 million) in prize money since turning pro at 17.
Off the court, she gives back to her hometown of Osijek, opening three public courts modeled after Grand Slam venues.
Maria, 38, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 36, has shown that experience still counts. Last June, she captured her fourth WTA title at the Queen’s Club Championships, defeating 23-year-old American Amanda Anisimova, 6-3, 6-4, and becoming the oldest woman at 37 to win a WTA 500 singles title.
The mother of two and husband-coached athlete also reached the 2022 Wimbledon semifinals and boasts four career singles titles.
Krevic and Maria are among 10 top-100 WTA players competing in the Philippines, including China’s Xinxu Wang (No. 57), who won the 2023 French Open women’s doubles crown with Taiwanese legend Hsieh Shu-Wei.
Other notable entrants include Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva (No. 71), Colombia’s Camila Osorio (No. 77), China’s Yue Yuan (No. 83), Switzerland’s Simona Waltert (No. 87), New Zealand’s Lulu Sun (No. 90), Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima (No. 94), and Australia’s Kimberly Birrell (No. 98).
PHILTA has also awarded wild cards to hometown favorite Alex Eala (No. 53), the 33rd Thailand SEA Games gold medalist; and Indonesia’s Janice Tjien (No. 56), should their schedules allow. Both players are committed to the Australian Open, which runs from Jan. 18 to Feb. 1, overlapping with the Philippine Women’s Open.
