Former world No. 2 Donna Krevic of Croatia and Germany’s Tatjana Maria, currently ranked No. 45, are set to headline the early entries for the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open. The WTA 125 tournament opens Jan. 26 at the newly refurbished Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila.

The Women’s Tennis Association released a provisional list of 24 players over the weekend for the 32-player main draw. The event marks the country’s first hosting of a WTA 125 tournament.

Krevic, 29, reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 at the start of 2024 and captured global attention with a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. Now ranked No. 69, the French Open semifinalist remains one of the marquee attractions in the field organized by the Philippine Tennis Association with support from the Philippine Sports Commission.

Facility upgrade pushed ahead of historic hosting

PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio, together with PHILTA officials, inspected the ongoing refurbishment of the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Friday. Organizers stressed that work continues daily to meet international standards ahead of the tournament.

Gregorio said there would be no holiday slowdown as officials and staff push to complete the transformation of the venue. The goal, he added, is to present Rizal as a showcase facility for the WTA’s return to Manila.

A product of the IMG Academy founded by Nick Bollettieri, Krevic turned professional at 17 and has won four WTA singles titles. She has earned over $10 million in prize money and has invested back home by opening public courts in Osijek modeled after Grand Slam venues.

Maria leads strong top-100 cast

Maria, 38, continues to defy age on the tour after winning the Queen’s Club Championships last June for her fourth career WTA title. She became the oldest champion of a WTA 500 singles event after defeating American Amanda Asiminova in straight sets.

Handled by husband-coach Charles Maria and now a mother of two, the German also reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2022. Her resurgence has kept her firmly inside the top 50 heading into the Manila event.

Krevic and Maria are among 10 top-100 players entered in the tournament. China’s Xinxu Wang, ranked No. 57, is next in line, followed by Kazakhstan’s Yulina Putintseva, Colombia’s Camila Osorio and China’s Yue Yuan.

Also listed are Switzerland’s Simona Waltert, New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima and Australia’s Kimberly Berrell. Wang previously made headlines by teaming up with Hsieh Shu-Wei to win the 2023 French Open women’s doubles title.

PHILTA awarded wild cards to Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Alex Eala and Indonesia’s Janice Tjien, subject to availability. Both are entered in the Australian Open main draw, which overlaps with the Philippine Women’s Open schedule.