Maria Sharapova excited to play in Manila for IPTL tour

MANILA, Philippines – Tennis superstar Maria Sharapova is excited to visit the country for the first time as she will try to lead the Manila Mavericks to the title in the newly-founded International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) tour scheduled on Nov. 28-30 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Sharapova, currently ranked no. 6 in the world, showed her excitement and asked for the support of her Filipino fans for her and the Mavericks through a video message.

“I just wanted to say how excited I am to finally be coming all the way to the Philippines for the first time in my career. I’m gonna be playing for the Manila Mavericks so I hope all of you gets the chance to watch me play and support me and of course, hope for the win,” Sharapova said in the video.

Sharapova will be joined by Andy Murray and other up-and-coming tennis stars as teammates. The Mavericks will also have Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya and top Philippines player Treat Huey. The 28-year-old Huey is the Philippines’ no. 1 and current ATP Doubles World No. 33.

Joining them in the Manila leg are Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Danilela Hantuchova, Thoms Berdych, Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter, Nick Kyrgios, Gael Monfils, Fabrice Santoro, Richard Gasquet, Goran Ivanisevic and more.

Sharapova will easily be the crowd’s darling as her Mavericks will take on the UAE Royals, Singapore Slammers and Indian Aces for the winning team’s purse of USD 1 million.

SM Tickets will hold an “Early Bird” sale for the Nov. 28-30 event for two weeks starting on Monday (Sept. 1) to Sept. 15.

The three-day pass during the “Early Bird” sale will range from as low as Php 2,500 for General Admission to Php 49,000 for the VIP section (including red carpet entry).  

Each 3-day pass entitles the holder to watch 2 daily matches, which will start at 4:00 pm and 7:30 pm daily. 

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