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Francis Casey Alcantara calls on the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) to act together for the good of the players in particular and the sport in the country in general.
“What will happen to us now?” Alcantara asked after Philta received a two-year suspension from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) that rules the world, basically for not managing his agency in the proper way. “I hope we can still play the Davis Cup, the SEA Games (Southeast Asia).”
In a letter sent by ITF President David Haggerty to Philta, the international body required Philta to implement constitutional reforms to ensure that all stakeholders and regional clubs are represented.
Philta has continued to ignore the ITF’s deadlines by submitting amendments to its constitution that would increase its membership base.
Alcantara, the 2019 SEA Games doubles champion alongside Jeson Patrombon, said the ITF’s decision is yet another blow to Filipino players who have been out of action for nearly a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that he hopes let local tennis officials do something to reverse the sentence.
That would mean following the ITF directive to solve “membership and representation” problems.
“I also hope that there will be maximum transparency in the upcoming elections,” Alcantara told the Inquirer. But having elections would mean that Philta would adhere to the ITF sanctions, something his leadership does not seem interested in doing.
Philta president Antonio Cablitas had ignored the ITF ban and said he hopes the ITF “will be informed about Philta’s initiatives and successes.”
Cablitas argued that the court’s recommendations are “wrong” and unfounded.
Philta was allowed to vote in the recent Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) through Vice President Michael Misa.
However, the body is expected to assume its current position in the POC in future meetings. INQ
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