TENNIS STARS SHOW WARES IN THE 9TH TOBY’S SPORTS-PRINCE SUMMER TENNIS FESTIVAL

            PHILIPPINE junior Fed Cupper Marinel Rudas served up a double bagel and wound up celebrating a triple success in the 9th Annual Toby’s-Prince Summer Tennis Festival at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
            The 15-year-old Rudas came up with a double bagel trouncing of Akiko de Guzman in the 16-under singles final, dished out a near flawless performance in defeating Macy Gonzales in the 18-under singles titular showdown and added a third title to her haul by winning the doubles crown in the 18-under division with Ma. Regina Santiago.

            The two-division top seed wasted no time in defeating De Guzman, 6-0, 6-0, and remained brutally efficient against Gonzales, 6-3, 6-1, for a twinkill in singles play in the event organized by Toby’s Sports, the No. 1 and largest sports retail chain in the Philippines.
            Rudas completed a hat trick of titles in the tournament by joining Santiago in the 18-under doubles final, where she again faced Gonzalez, who played with Javie Custodio.
            “Watching the kids in action and seeing how they develop into high-level athletes gives us more motivation to continue to be part of children’s rise to stardom,” said Rod Claudio, president of Sports Resources Inc., the official distributor of Prince in the country.

            “Some of these kids have worn the country’s colors in big international competitions and surely more players, through these tournaments, will reach that level and beyond. We are proud and honored to provide a stage for them to showcase their skills here,” he added.

Kim Ivor Saraza reigned supreme in the boys’ 18-under division, downing Arjohn dela Cruz, 3-0, retired, but the latter ruled the 16-under class with a 6-3,     6-1victory over Dheo Talatayod.           

Saraza also chalked up twin wins in the tournament sanctioned by Philta, teaming up with Akio Sy to rule the doubles while Rachelle de Guzman also completed a double in the 14-under girls’ division, winning the singles crown and joining Isabella Orteza atop the doubles podium.

Christian San Andres won the 14-under boys’ singles plum, Miguel de la Paz and Alberto Lim Jr. topped the doubles event, Vincent Salas ruled the 12-under boys’ singles, Maia Balce stamped her mark in the 12-under girls’ singles and Joseph Gabriel Tiamson bagged the 10-under unisex singles crown.            

The Summer Tennis Festival, which will soon celebrate a decade of quality competition, has grown huge in terms of both participation and class, and the men and women of Toby’s Sports are continuing their commitment to give the youth a proper venue to hone their skills.           

“We are now on our ninth year and we are overwhelmed with the progress of the players and the tournament. Each year the number of participants increases, not only those from the metro but also from the provinces,” said Toby Claudio, vice president VP for operations of Toby's Sports.

“Toby’s Sports continues to support our youth athletes and we look forward to producing more talented athletes like Francis Casey Alcantara, Kyle Dandan, Jessica Agra and the Patrimonio sisters Anna Christine and Anna Clarice.”

The winners in the non-ranking divisions were Marie Louise Ramos in the 16-under girls, Gilbert San Jose in the 16-under boys, Mary Rose San Jose in the 12-under girls and Vincent Alanis in the 12-under boys.

For complete results of the 9^th Toby-Prince Tennis Festival, see below.

Event is presented by Toby’s Sports and Prince in cooperation with Equipe, Kontrol Sports Eyewear, Fruit Magic, the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) and Futures Tennis Foundation.

The Tennis Festival is among one of the tournaments Toby’s organizes yearly to support its commitment for its grassroots sports development program. It is also the longest running and biggest tennis age group tournament in the country.

Comments