P3 million at stake as Gentry Open chases next Eala

MANILA, Philippines — Inspired by Alex Eala’s rise on the world tennis stage, the Gentry Open is rolling out the red carpet for its biggest edition yet – with over 1,000 entrants and the largest prize pool in Philippine tennis history.

A mix of seasoned local aces and rising stars led by AJ Lim will battle up to 12 foreign bets in the tourney set Thursday to Aug. 30 at the Colegio de San Agustin Tennis Stadium in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

Netters from India, the United States, New Zealand and Ireland are entered in the Grade A-level tournament – the highest classification for any local event in the country.

Lim, who is currently in Spain fine-tuning his game, will be out for revenge after losing to Arthur Craig Pantino in last year’s final. He also fell to Filipino-American Christopher Papa in this year’s 2026 Palawan Pawnshop Open.

Backed by the Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) and Palawan Pawnshop, the Gentry Open was inaugurated last year in the middle of Eala’s international breakthrough. Now on its second edition, it returns with a P3-million prize pool – the biggest pot ever staked in a Philippine tennis tournament.

The purse will be spread across multiple divisions in the men’s and women’s categories (singles, doubles, and mixed) and juniors (boys and girls singles). A whopping P400,000 grand prize awaits the men’s singles champion, while P200,000 is at stake for the women’s singles titlist.

“This is history in the making for Philippine tennis as the biggest local tournament ever staged here, so we’re very excited to bring out the best in the tennis community,” said Gentry Open and Gentry Timepieces founder Hayb “Pareng Hayb” Anzures.

Anzures was joined by partners Yatharth Vidrohi Bharwadj of Skywarrior Philippines, HONOR Philippines vice president Stephen Cheng, Beauty Elements Ventures Inc. manager Nana Borja, and Philippine Bottling Beverages general manager Thor Mutuc.