FILIPINO netters struggled in the first day of the Holcim/ITF Women’s Circuit at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday as they bowed out of contention after losing to foreign players.

Czarina Mae Arevalo, the country’s former No. 1 who made it to the main draw through the qualifiers, dropped a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Israel’s Ofri Lankri.

"The Manny Pacquiao Blog". Click here for stories and updates on the Filipino boxing champ.

It was a huge loss for Arevalo, the former PCA Open champion, who had to pass through the eye of the needle before making it to the main draw. She escaped with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over German Katharina Lehnert and scored a 6-0, 6-1 rout over Chinese Tapei’s Lee Pei Chi to earn a slot into main draw.

Anna Clarice Patri-monio, on the other hand, lost to Vietnamese Trang Huynh Phoung Dai, 6-4, 7-5, while her older sister Anna Christine, suffered a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Elodie Rogge-Dietrich of France.

The string of setbacks left US-based Maricris Fernandez and Fil-Am Riza Zalameda—also wildcard entries—as the last hopes for the RP team.

Fernandez, Zalameda and Anna Christine are using this two-week event as part of their training for next month’s Sea Games in Laos. (PR)