The Philippine soft tennis team leaves on Wednesday (July 2, 2025) for Poland as part of its preparation for the Asian Championships in South Korea this September. The Poland Cup is scheduled from July 4 to 6 in the town of Grodzisk Mazowiecki. (Contributed photo)
Veteran athletes Bien Zoleta and Joseph Arcilla will spearhead the 15-member Philippine soft tennis team competing at the Poland Cup from July 4 to 9, marking the country’s first international tournament appearance for the year.
Joining them are returning national players Princess Catindig, Christy Sanosa, Bea Ebriega, Shyryn Salazar, and promising newcomer Airies Nuguit. The men’s lineup includes Patrick Mendoza, Adjuthor Moralde II, Sherwin Nuguit, and Jason Caminting.
The team will be under the leadership of head coach Michael Enriquez, with support from veteran coaches Josephine Paguyo, Wenifredo De Leon, and Mark Anthony Alcoseba.
Preparation for the Asian stage
The Poland Cup serves as a crucial warm-up event ahead of the Asian Soft Tennis Championships, set for September 13 to 23 in Mungyeong, South Korea.
“Our goal is to reach the podium again,” said Zoleta before the team’s departure on Wednesday. Zoleta is a decorated player who previously earned bronze medals in both the singles and team events at the 2016 Asian Championships in Chiba, Japan.
A team built on legacy and momentum
The Philippines enters the tournament on a high note, having dominated the soft tennis competition at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia. That campaign saw Arcilla take gold in men’s singles, while Zoleta and Catindig clinched the women’s doubles title. The women’s team, composed of Zoleta, her sister Bambi, Catindig, Sanosa, Fatima Ayesha Amirul, and Virvienica Isearis Bejosano, also secured team gold.
Zoleta’s career includes a bronze medal in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Palembang and a historic finish at the World Soft Tennis Championships, making her the third Filipino to win a medal at the event. She joins the ranks of Josephine Paguyo, who medaled in 1995, and Joseph Arcilla in 2011.
As they step onto the courts in Poland, the team carries not only their rackets and hopes, but also the pride of a nation hungry for another moment of glory.