At the turn of the 20th century, the Philippines was ceded to the United States by the losers of the Spanish-American war. An uneasy peace followed, which was followed in short order by a resumption of hostilities, this time between Americans and Filipinos, the latter wanting to break free entirely from foreign domination.

In May 1902, General Malvar, the most persistent of the Filipino generals, made peace with America. Came next the American occupation, the Governors-General, and tennis.

Army officers stationed in the Walled City laid aside their sabers and firearms and, on improvised courts adjoining the Sta. Lucia barracks, engaged in the first exhibition of tennis witnessed by Filipinos. Today, Governors-General are merely pleasant memories and the Philippines is no longer a colony of the United States. Thankfully, however, the sport of tennis continues to hold in its thrall a completely willing people.

U.S. influence in education and sports (1902-1936) American rule brought with it policy that gave a high priority to education, which resulted in a knowledge explosion. Initially led by the Thomasites, hundreds of school teachers came from the United States, transferring the technology to Filipino teachers so rapidly that by 1927, the American educational system was well entrenched in all of the country's public schools.

By the 1930's, literacy had doubled to nearly 50% of the population. Likewise, educated Filipinos acquired a new language. This was to be their linguistic key to Western civilization as well as to Western sports like basketball, track and field, baseball and lawn tennis.

Excelling in both academics and muscle-flexing events, the Philippines won the overall title during the inaugural staging of the Far Eastern Games in 1913, which included Japan and China. In tennis, Gil Fargas of Laong Laan Athletic Club would emerge the first Filipino champion, beating Edwin S. Gee in 1915.

Dwight Davis, Governor-General
A significant development during the early years of tennis was the inception of the Davis Cup. In 1900, the Davis Cup was donated by Dwight F. Davis of St. Louis to foster international competition between nations.

Dwight Davis was a Harvard student and the inter-scholastic Doubles Champion of America. He would become an influential politician under the Hoover administration. Appointed the U.S. Public Parks Commissioner in 1911, Davis would later become the Philippines' Governor-General in 1929.

Driven by his passion for the game, Davis was instrumental in the development of tennis in the Philippines, building tennis courts and sports facilities in almost every municipality. His influence in the game is evident in the three stadiums originally built for tennis during the construction of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in 1936.

The Philippines joined Davis Cup competition in 1926, to play Japan in San Francisco. In the 1920's and 1930's, tennis in Asia meant the Philippines, India and Japan. The country's offensive was led by Gil Fargas, Emilio Bolano, Johnny Ladaw, Francisco and Guillermo Aragon, Leonardo and Juanito Gavia, Felix Ampon, Amado Sanchez, Manuel Barredo and Lope Yngayo. Yngayo was the country's first Davis Cup match winner.

(To be continued)

* Acknowledgments: Story based on the original article, "Looking back on Philippine Tennis," which appeared in the interim PHILTA site, http://www.angelfire.com/id/ustc/philtahistory.htm,
as well as in http://www.zoletachamps.com/tennis%20history.html.htm