PH soft tennis team joins Poland Cup

OFF TO POLAND. 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 9 in the town of Grodzisk Mazowiecki. (Contributed photo)

MANILA – World Soft Tennis Championships veterans Bien Zoleta and Joseph Arcilla banner the 15-member Philippine team in the Poland Cup set July 4 to 9.

Others in the lineup are Princess Catindig, Christy Sañosa, Bea Ebriega, Shyryn Salazar, Airies Nuguit (rookie), Patrick Mendoza, Adjuthor Moralde II, Sherwin Nuguit and Jason Caminting.

Head coach Michael Enriquez and deputies Josephine Paguyo, Wenifredo De Leon and Mark Anthony Alcoseba are also in the delegation.

The Poland Cup is part of the team's preparation for the Asian Championships scheduled from Sept. 13 to 23 in Mungyeong, South Korea.

"The goal is to reach the podium again," Zoleta said in an interview while waiting for the flight to Poland Wednesday afternoon.

Zoleta, a seasoned tennis player before shifting to soft tennis, won the singles and team bronze medals in the 2016 Asian Championships held in Chiba, Japan.

Catindig and Arcilla, who both competed in Chiba, and the rest of the team are excited to show their skills in the Poland Cup, their first international tournament this year.

The Philippines topped the medal tally board at the 2023 Cambodia SEAG, winning three gold medals coming from Arcilla (men's singles), Zoleta and Catindig (women's doubles), and the women's team of Zoleta and younger sister Bambi, Catindig, Sañosa, Fatima Ayesha Amirul and Virvienica Isearis Bejosano.

Bien Zoleta, who pocketed the mixed and team bronze medals at the 2011 SEAG in Palembang, Indonesia, is the third Filipino to win a bronze medal at the World Soft Tennis Championships (2015, India) after Paguyo (1995, Japan) and Arcilla (2011, Korea). (PNA)

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