PH Open lures world-ranked players

Former world No. 2 and Paris Olympic silver medalist Donna Krevic of Croatia and resurgent German veteran Tatjana Maria head the impressive list of early entries in the inaugural Philippine Women's Open kicking off Jan. 26 at the newly-refurbished Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

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Both were on the provisional list of 24 players released over the weekend by the Women's Tennis Association in the 32-player draw for the country’s first WTA 125 tournament.

World No. 53 Alex Eala, the face of PH tennis the past three years, is likely to miss the biggest event the country is hosting in decades as she is to compete in the Australian Open — the first of four Grand Slam events.