Manila: Paris Olympic silver medalist Donna Vecic of Croatia and German veteran Tatjana Maria, ranked No. 45 in the world, headline the early entries for the inaugural Philippine Women's Open. The tournament is set to commence on January 26 at the newly refurbished Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila.

According to Philippines News Agency, both Vecic and Maria were included in the provisional list of 24 players released by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 32-player draw in the country's first WTA 125 tournament. Vecic, a 2024 Wimbledon semifinalist currently ranked No. 69, remains a player to watch in this WTA-sanctioned competition. She reached a career-high No. 17 in the WTA rankings last year.

Meanwhile, Maria, 38, achieved a career-best ranking of No. 36 last year and won her fourth WTA crown at London's Queen's Club in June, becoming the oldest Tour singles titlist since Serena Williams' 2020 Auckland victory at the same age. China's Xinyu Wang, ranked No. 57, is the highest-rated player in the main draw after Maria. Wang, alongside Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei, clinched the 2023 French Open women's doubles title.

PSC Chair Patrick Gregorio and officials from the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) recently inspected the ongoing refurbishment of the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. "No Christmas break, no New Year break. No holiday break. Everybody's here, Philta is here, [PSC] Commissioners, PSC people are here," Gregorio stated in a news release over the weekend, emphasizing the commitment to transform the venue for Manila's first-ever WTA 125 hosting.

Local favorite and 33rd Thailand Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Alexandra Eala (ranked No. 53) and Indonesia's Janice Tjen (ranked No. 56) have been awarded wild cards by Philta. Both Eala and Tjen have also qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open, scheduled from January 18 to February 1 in Melbourne.