At A Glance
- AJ Lim lived up to his lofty billing as he reigned supreme in the maiden 2026 Philta Men's Open at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila last weekend.
(AJ Lim Facebook post)
AJ Lim lived up to his lofty billing as he reigned supreme in the maiden 2026 Philta Men’s Open at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila last weekend.
The 26-year-old tennis ace rolled past his foes in every round en route to the singles finals, where he defeated familiar rival Eric Jed Olivarez Jr., 7-6 (6), 6-1. He then went on to conquer the doubles crown alongside Olivarez, edging Iggy Pantino and Noel Damian, 6-3, 4-6, 11-9.
Lim’s twin victory earned him 2,000 points and P350,000 purse for the singles championship and shared the P80,000 prize with Olivarez in their doubles’ exploits.
Bowing anew to the four-time PCA Open champ Lim, Olivarez settled for 750 points and a singles’ runner-up purse of P175,000.
Prior to his title triumph, Lim overcame tough assignments, beating the likes of his Southeast Asian Games teammates that include last year’s Gentry Open winner Pantino, 6-3, 6-1, in the quarterfinal, before notching a 6-1, 6-4 semis victory against national team multi-medalist Francis Casey Alcantara.