Story & photo by Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes
JEU de Paumme, or “game of palm,” was said to be the origin of one of today’s most beloved sports: tennis. Historians believe that the game’s ancient origin lay in 12th-century northern France, wherein indoor tennis courts were then constructed in modern style, which eventually spread across royal palaces all over Europe, thus, prodding the headstrong “King of Navarre” Louis X into becoming the sport’s first-ever player.
Now, French car brand Peugeot just brought its adulation for tennis into the Philippines with the Peugeot Philippines Tennis Open (PPTO). The carmaker is bent on discovering and honing local talents, and is searching for the first-ever batch of Filipino champions, who will get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch the French Open live in June 2016.
“Peugeot and tennis share a deep relationship, as proven by our sponsorship of the Roland-Garros for more than 30 years. We, at Peugeot, would like to ignite that same love for the game in country by fueling the local players’ passion for tennis and drive them to conquer international competitions such as Roland-Garros in the future,” Peugeot Philippines President Glen Dasig said.
“We are excited to watch Filipino tennis players in action and see who will emerge as the first batch of champions,” he added.
PPTO is a nationwide tournament, which aims to do just that.
Since 1984, Peugeot, one of the oldest and largest selling automotive brands in the world has been the relentless driving force behind the prestigious French Open and has also been supporting other tourneys, such as the Rio Open held in Brazil and the Barcelona Open in Spain.
With the PPTO, the carmaker is promoting the sport as a vital key competition arena by staging its first-ever tournament in the Asia Pacific, which commences this month.
The event invites all Filipino citizens aged 13 and above to compete in four divisions, namely, men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles and women’s doubles.
To join, players can register at their nearest Peugeot dealership, regional representatives or visit the official PPTO web site https://www.peugeottennis.ph to download the necessary registration and waiver forms. A fee of P500 is required to be paid in full when the players check-in on Day One to complete their entry in the tournament.
Winners of the four divisions in each of the five regional qualifiers will compete in the PPTO National Finals scheduled from February 15 to 21, 2016, in Metro Manila.
Aside from watching the 2016 French Open live, all PPTO 2015 National Champions will also receive a tournament trophy, special prizes from Wilson and a cash prize.
According to Dasig, Peugeot Philippines is committed to promote tennis and support Filipino players of the sport.
“Hopefully, in the future we get to see Filipino tennis players not only watching in the sidelines, but will one day be also serving aces in Grand Slam tournaments around the world,” he asserted.
In an interview, the Philippines’s No. 1 ranked woman, Marian Capadocia, expressed her delight in this move by the French carmaker.
“We’re glad about this tournament. I’m personally excited and looking forward to it, actually,” she shared.
And with this, she, together with all the other local talents in the country, surely only have one thing to say to Peugeot Philippines: “Merci beaucoup.”
Image credits: Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes