Our lives are fashioned by our choices. First we make our choices. Then our choices make us.
— Anonymous
MAYPAJO, Caloocan City — Our Filipino tennis champion Alexandra “Alex” Eala faces a points penalty and fines if she skips the Beijing Open to suit up for Team Philippines in the upcoming Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, without an exemption from the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
The Beijing Open is one of the 10 mandatory 1000-level tournaments in the WTA calendar, with this year’s edition running from September 30 to October 11.
Unfortunately, this runs smack into the Asian Games tennis competition, which is scheduled from September 27 to October 3.
There would have been no problem if Alex had the choice of where to play. Unfortunately, as a high-ranking player, she is contractually obliged to compete in Beijing.
Not doing so would mean sanctions that include a points penalty and fines. And it appears she cannot simply be exempted from competing in China, as the WTA usually grants exemptions only when players are dealing with injuries or personal matters.
Still, there is a small window of hope as the Philippine Tennis Association (PhilTA) is asking the WTA to allow Eala to skip Beijing and instead play for the Philippines in Nagoya.
As of this writing, there has been no reply from the WTA. But if it denies PhilTA’s request, a zero-pointer will be forced on Eala’s Beijing 1000 slot in the scoring system.
This is something Alex cannot simply replace with a better 1000-level tournament performance since the Beijing Open is part of the 11 mandatory competitions, including the four Grand Slams.
Critically, with a “0” forced into her total, the WTA scoring system will wipe out her lowest-scoring tournament from her “7 Best Other” slots (125s, 250s and 500s) to keep her total tournaments at 18.
Fortunately, though, Eala does not have to defend points in Beijing—thanks to her non-participation last year.
Now, if fortune favors our country’s pride and she gets an exemption, the scoring system will leave her Beijing Open slot blank and count her 17 other tournaments toward her total.
Moreover, that lowest-scoring output from her seven best other tournaments will not be wiped out.
Finally, if the WTA does not grant Eala an exemption, she will have to pay fines and could even lose year-end bonuses amounting to thousands of dollars.
Meanwhile, we heard that Olympic boxing bronze medalist Aira Villegas and bemedalled young weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos will carry the Philippine flag at the opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Games.
There were hopes, too, that Alex would also join them as a flag-bearer. But Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham Tolentino explained that Eala was initially considered for the role but had to decline to give herself ample rest ahead of the Singapore Open.
The WTA 500 tournament runs from September 21 to 27, while the Asian Games tennis competition is scheduled from September 27 to October 3.
During the send-off ceremony for the Philippine delegation, Tolentino said he was on a phone call with Alex’s dad, who kindly explained that his daughter needed to rest for the Singapore Open. The PhilTA head, Tolentino said, had to understandably agree.
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IA/XF
