Madis, Aludo advance in Philta International Juniors tennis tilt

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos Tennielle Madis and Stefi Marithe Aludo downed separate rivals Tuesday to reach the second round of the Coca-Cola Philta International Juniors Leg 1 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

The top-seeded Madis, defeated Korean qualifier Lee Hanbi, 6-1, 6-1, while Aludo, the No. 3 seed, prevailed over Chinese Du Ruihan, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Second seed and first leg champion Oh Jiyun of Korea, Pimlaphat Lim of Thailand, Saaya Sakashita of Japan and Shinar Zahra Shukayna Heriyadi Sunggoro of Indonesia also advanced in the ITF Juniors J60 event supported by official ball Technifibre.

"I'm glad to win my first match," said the 17-year-old Madis. "Hopefully, I can keep my momentum throughout the tournament."

Madis, training under coach Bobbie Angelo at the Philippine Tennis Academy founded by Romy Chan, is coming off twin victories at the ITF J60 event in Changhua City, Chinese Taipei. 

She won the singles title over No. 3 Rira Kosaka of Japan, 6-0, 6-4, and secured the doubles title with PTA teammate Stefi Marithe Aludo after beating Kosaka and Ching Laam Lai of Hong Kong, 6-3, 6-3.

Madis, who was born and raised in M'lang, North Cotabato, has won five singles titles this year, including victories at the J30 PHINMA Week 1 and 2 in Makati City in July and J60 events in Colombo (Sri Lanka) in September, and Nonthaburi (Thailand) in October. She also won five doubles titles with Aludo.

“Our heartfelt congratulations to Tenny for her exceptional skill and dedication to the sport which has paid off in the tournaments she has been competing in. She has been an inspiration to us and everyone supporting Philippine tennis. We in the Academy are very proud of her and wish her all the best in her succeeding events,” said PTA Chairman and PHINMA Chairman Emeritus Oscar Hilado.