Recommended Video
The first Filipino to win a tennis juniors Grand Slam, Niño Alcantara is now the veteran on the Philippines’ tennis SEA Games roster.
Philippine tennis is understandably on the rise given the recent exploits of one Alexandra Eala, who is perhaps the most popular Filipino athlete today. Alex has been making Philippine tennis history for the past three years, from becoming the first Filipino player to win a singles junior Grand Slam to becoming the first to also win a senior-level Grand Slam match.
Yet years before, it was Francis Casey “Niño” Alcantara who broke ground for Philippine tennis as the first Filipino tennis player to win a juniors Grand Slam title. He achieved this feat at the 2009 Australian Open, where he won the boys’ double title with Hsieh Cheng-peng of Chinese Taipei.
It was therefore rather symbolic that Niño and Alex would team up to win the bronze medal in mixed doubles at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, the country’s first tennis medal since 2006. Now, they’re once again on the same team as part of the eight-person tennis delegation competing at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok.
For Niño, repping the Philippines in the SEA Games has already become a habit. He’s won two golds, one silver and one bronze, and he’s aiming to add that his medal collection in Bangkok.
“This is my sixth one,” he told The GAME in an exclusive online interview. “I’ve been playing SEA Games for the last 12 years. So I’m the kuya of the team na. We have all these like young kids, even like our opponents, they’re super young.
“Ruben (Gonzalez) and I, we’re the OGs here in SEA Games. So yeah, we’re excited. And yeah, very happy to be back and playing for the country again.”
Alcantara has high hopes of taking home at least two golds. He and Gonzalez are the defending champions in men’s doubles, and he’s hopeful that he and Eala can bag the gold in mixed doubles.
“I think we have a good chance because, I mean, all the players here are good naman. But we’ll just take it one match at a time and hopefully by next week we’ll be like peaking already and we’ll be playing good tennis na.
“So, anything could happen, especially in doubles. It’s like sudden death and super tiebreak lang sa third set. So it’s anybody’s game and we’ll just, you know, take one match at a time and then we’ll do our routines and hopefully we get the gold again back to Manila.”
State of the sport
At 33, Alcantara is definitely one of the senior members of the team, although it seems just like yesterday when he struck gold at the Australian Open.
“Winning the first ever Grand Slam for the Philippines, at that time, I was super overwhelmed with what I achieved,” he said. “Just being there, because growing up, I wanted to play, or just I wanted to watch a Grand Slam tournament.
“I was like, growing up, and then playing there, and eventually winning it, it was just more than a dream come true. And after that, I mean, I got offers in the States, then I went to college for a full ride for four and a half years. So I think from then on, I think my tennis career was pretty okay.”
It would take 11 years before another Filipino, Eala, would win a juniors Slam. A big reason for this long gap, Niño feels, is the lack of a good local support structure for the sport.
“It was hard for Philippine tennis, for sure, because one, we don’t have the facilities, and second, there’s only a few people that help the sport in the Philippines, and that’s the Philippine Tennis Association. And we don’t have tournaments at home as well. We don’t have much.”
Today, Philippine tennis is lucky to have a generational player like Alex Eala, who received training early in her career that maximized her natural talents.
“With Alex, I think she’s very fortunate that she got a scholarship at the Rafa Nadal Academy when she was 12 with her brother Miko, and from there, they did really well, both of them. But locally, it was tough because we don’t have academies.”
Without Alex, the Philippines might still be waiting for its next tennis juniors Slam champion.
“It was a long time coming,” Alcantara said. “We knew that she was going to win some juniors, but it took a while because we don’t really have anything back home. So she had to train in Spain and do her thing there.”
Did Niño immediately know that Alex would go places?
“Oh, yeah. I mean, she won the Les Petit As when she was like 12 years old. So, yeah. All the big players win this tournament.”
There’s still much work to be done, though. While Niño welcomes the country hosting international tournaments, he can’t help but feel a little cautious about the planned WTA 125 event slated for late January.
“I think it’s too early, and we’re not sure if Alex is even going to play,” he said. “They could have started with Futures events, like for the younger generation. Instead of like putting a 125,000 tournament, they could have put up 15Ks, like six of those throughout the year. It would have been much better for us to get some matches and get some points too. Because jumping there, everything’s in a rush and they’re like doing it in like the next two months.
“So I’m not really pro for it, but it’s good that’s happening. It’s a good thing for Philippine tennis, but at the same time, I think we should just start slow.”
As for his future in the sport, Niño will continue competing internationally in 2026. There’s also the Asian Games in Japan, where he’s hoping to get another national team call-up.
“I would love to play, but it depends on the association because they’ll pick the players. I don’t know. Maybe they’ll schedule a tryout for it. But I’m always ready. I’m always up for it.
“And because Alex and I, we have to defend our bronze medal. Hopefully we can do better this Asian Games next year. I hope she can carry me.”
Banner images from Meanne Estacio Alcantara.