Sydney Enriquez hopes to flash top form coming off a break as she shoots for another two-title sweep in the PPS-PEPP Cotabato City national age group tennis tournament, which started Thursday at the Cotabato City Tennis Society courts.
Close to 200 players are vying for top honors in various divisions in the Group 2 tournament with the sponsoring Palawan Pawnshop Palawan Express Pera Padala and host Cotabato City Tennis Society putting up a novel 8-unisex division to accommodate the kids wanting to get a feel of tournament play.
“It’s inspiring to see that players as young as eight years old and below have shown interest in playing in a tournament format and we hope to put up more of this (8-unisex) category in our future tournaments,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro, referring to the youngest division that features siblings Matteo and Uno Calingasan, Rafa Ubag and Reuben Calzado, among others.
But focus will still be on the 16-year-old Enriquez, the star from Salug, Zambo del Norte who has dominated her age bracket and the premier 18-and-under category in the Gen. Santos City, Kidapawan, Ozamis, Tangub, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental stops of the nationwide circuit presented by Dunlop.
The Palarong Pambansa champ, however, expects to have her hands full this week against the likes of Judy Ann Padilla, Mae Gulagula and Teya Quinanola with Zkyla Cervantes, Joanne Gornez, Shiela Balinas and Jlo Ramirez joining the title chase in 18-U play.
Keen competition is also seen in the boys’ 18-U side headlined by Eric Jay Tangub, Nilo Ledama, Steve Aton and Kris Espinoza with Tangub and Espinoza also leading the 16-U roster that includes Aslan Carbonilla and Rene Lagamon.
Carbonilla, on the other hand, gains the top seeding in 14-U class which also drew the likes of Armando Saldivar, Jason Flores, Wayne Jumawan and AJ Bering with Padilla, Gulagula, Alyssa Dino and Marie Josue topbilling the girls’ 14-U cast.
Pete Bandala, Jairez Ramirez, Yusuf Maldo and Inigo Barros loom as the players to beat in 10-unisex with Bandala also vying in the boys’ 12-U category along with Bering, Jumawan and Saldivar with Marilyn Mesiona and Dyan Natano set to dispute the girls’ 12-U diadem in the event sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.
