Camila Osorio celebrates after defeating Olympic silver medalist Donna Vekic of Croatia at the inaugural Philippine Women's Open final, held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila on January 31, 2026. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA – Top sports officials are looking forward to hosting another high-level tennis tournament in the country, following the success of the inaugural Philippine Women's Open.
The country wrapped up its hosting of a first-ever WTA 125 tournament to mostly positive feedback all around and a great turnout of fans.
As the historic tournament came to a close last week, both the Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) have again expressed interest in hosting another WTA 125 tiff or an even higher-level competition.
READ: PHILTA eyes more local tournaments after success of PH Women's Open
"We're obviously very happy with the turnout. It's a smashing success. And I would like to thank everyone for being part of this history and for making this WTA 125 special," PHILTA Secretary General John Rey Tiangco told media at the conclusion of the Philippine Women's Open.
"I'm sure next year would be a much better 125. And we'll have more time to prepare... I'm sure we learned a lot from this. It's not perfect. But the good thing is that everyone helped each other," he added.
PHILTA said it is now in its first year of a three-year deal for the WTA 125 franchise.
But Tiangco said there's more than meets the eye to hosting higher tournaments at WTA 250 or higher.
"Of course people want a bigger one, a better one, that's expected. But that's a different process. Because yung 125, actually yung franchise you get directly from WTA," Tiangco explained.
"But the 250s, WTA doesn't offer 250, 500, 1000 anymore. It's owned by an entity, a private entity. So you have to deal with them. It's either you lease the franchise or you buy it. So you'll have to negotiate it hindi siya sure thing," he pointed out.
The WTA 125 is the second-tier of women's tennis tournaments, behind the WTA Tour which includes grand slams like the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
The WTA 250, 500, 1000 and WTA Finals are likewise part of the WTA Tour.
"So yung 125, they still offer it to other countries because I think they have a target of around 90 125s eventually and then, they will stop. Right now they're at 60. We are lucky," Tiangco said.
The PHILTA official pointed out the "good schedule" of the WTA 125 tiff in Manila, which coincides with the second week of the Australian Open.
Fans watch as Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala faces Japan's Himeno Sakatsume in the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open Round of 16 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila on January 28, 2026. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
"Remember, nag-press conference tayo. We were transparent that we're not sure that Alex [Eala] would come. But either way, it's good for us because we attract the good players from AO [Australian Open]. Kasi in AO, 128 draw so the next two days pa lang, 64 na 'yun. 'Yung 64, since we are within the region, there is a big possibility that, 'We go here," Tiangco said.
"And since we've shown that we can host and all the players, coaches are happy with the hospitality and the warm reception from the crowd, I'm sure word of mouth pa lang, they will be talking on the tour na, 'Hey, you should go to the Philippines. It's a 125 but you feel like you are a bigger tournament. You are treated really special out there.' It's a good thing for us," he added.
READ: Alex Eala hopes local tennis gets a boost after Philippine Women's Open
As for PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio, the success of the Philippine Women's Open shows there is a need to sustain growing interest in tennis in the country.
"We should do more of this. Itong mga tennis tournaments na parang bago sa experience ng Filipinos. Gustong gusto pala nila eh. So talagang happy ako na ginawa natin itong WTA 125 in Manila because the Filipinos, the youth, they deserve to see world class tennis," he said.
Gregorio pointed out that the turnout remained high even when Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala and the other local players were already out of the competition.
"Yun yung pagsubok na tinatanong sa amin ng WTA. Let us observe if the Filipinos will still patronize, will still watch even if we don't have a Filipino player [left] in the tournament. And napatunayan naman natin, punong-puno ilang araw na. Itong finals punong-puno. Ibig sabihin, we appreciate world-class tennis. Kahit sinong manalo diyan, it's a celebration of sports and tennis in the Philippines," he said.
Gregorio acknowledged there's still room for improvement in the country's hosting, including possible investment in technology for the tournament.
"Well siyempre yung better ano pa, more equipped tennis courts. Kasi ang technology ngayon dapat nakikita mo na kung line in or out. These are all investments that we can do moving forward as we try to host the bigger WTA tournaments," the PSC chief said.
RAVE REVIEWS FROM PWO PLAYERS
Philippine Women's Open Champion Camila Osorio was one of the players that was vocal about her praise for the hosting.
"I said the whole week, the tournament has been really, really good. I've got nothing to say but congrats. Congrats for hosting this beautiful tournament. Thank you for making it possible," she said.
"It was really nice. You can tell they made it with love, which is really nice to see. If there is something they can improve next year, it would be to make it bigger, I would say," Osorio said.
READ: Colombia's Camila Osorio wins inaugural PH Women's Open
The tandem of Filipino-American Sabrina Santamaria and Quinn Gleason, the Philippine Women's Open doubles runners-up, also had rave reviews over the country's first-ever WTA 125 tournament.
"Yeah, they're doing an amazing job. The organization, all the volunteers, you guys have thought of everything, and I really believe that this has run bigger than a 125 [tournament]. I really believe this is better than some 500s that we play at, so it's really a special thing to be here," Santamaria said.
"I've been telling everyone how impressed I've been with the organization. Everyone's trying so hard to put on a great event, and the players really can tell, and we really appreciate all of you guys. All the details, we're really noticing," Gleason added.
Top-seeded player Tatjana Maria likewise gave the inaugural tiff high praises.
"It [the Philippine Women's Open] is super nice. I think that everybody agrees with me that the tournament seems to have existed for years. It is so well-organized. It is super good here. Everyone is super kind," she said.
"Of course, the crowd has been amazing from the first day. It [the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center] is completely full, which is why I think players like me find it nice to play here," Maria added.
The Philippine Women's Open ran from January 26 to 31 at the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center in the Rizal Memorial Complex in Manila.