Tennis exec netfest gets underway today

Senior executives take center stage beginning today when the PTMI (Philippine Tennis Management, Inc.) tennis tournament reels off with a promise of slambang action among the country’s top decision-makers at the Quezon City Sports Club indoor shell courts on E. Rodriguez Ave. in Quezon City.

Eleven categories are on tap in the week-long tournament, including two ladies events, with a total purse of P200,000 up for grabs. The other events are the men’s 35, 40, 50 and 55 years-old-and-above and doubles in the 35, 45, 50, 55 and 60-years-old-and-above classes.

Lined up in the ladies side are the 30 and 35 years and above categories with trophies to be awarded to all winners and runners-up and gift certificates to all winners, runners-up and losing semifinalists, according to PTMI president Ted Banas.

A daily raffle for the participants, courtesy of Forten Tennis Accessories, will also be held with fabulous prizes to be given away.

The tournament, sponsored Dunlop-Slazenger, Forten Tennis Accessories, Adidas, Sulo Hotel, Viva Mineral Water, Racks Restaurant and RFM Corp., is staged by PTMI, an organization founded recently by a group of senior tennis players whose mission is to launch a massive search for future stars for international competitions through a continuing talent identification program nationwide.

Games and Amusements Board chairman Eduardo Villanueva leads a field of celebrities clashing for top honors in the tournament, the first in a series of tournaments lined up by the newly-formed PTMI in cooperation with the QCSC, according to tournament director Arturo "Bong" Ilagan.