THE Philippine girls’ team, led by Alexandra Eala, came off with a 3-0 shutout of Kyrgyzstan in the opening games of the 2017 International Tennis Federation Team Championships for boys and girls in New Delhi, India.
Eala, the highest-ranked Filipina under-14 player in Asia at no. 12, led the fight with her 6-1, 6-0 stopping of Vladislava Andrevskaya, 6-1, 6-0, in the second singles.
Missy Carlos drew first blood by turning back Banat Madalieva, 6-2, 6-1, in the first singles.
Carlos then joined up with Zoleta in the doubles for a 6-3, 6-1, edging of Aigerim Akshol and Andrevskaya.
The Filipinas, coached by Tom Falcis, will next face Iraq in the three-team Group A. Bunched in Group B are Singapore, Lebanon, Nepal and Jordan.
The top teams of Groups A and B will progress to the semifinals where a knock-out competition decides the champions.
The tournament, known as the World Junior Team Under-14 Competition 2016, takes place from Feb. 27 to March 4, with 9 girls teams participating in what is considered as the Asia/Oceania Pre Qualifying events.
On the other hand, Zoleta is newest member of the national under-14 Philippine girls team. She earned her spot following many podium finishes in 2014 and 2015 in age-group meets in Malaysia.
She is coming back to international competitions after a foot injury sidelined her last year.
The national squad will be coached by Tom Falcis, and the trip is bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission.