MANILA — As tennis and other racket sports continue to gain popularity in the country, the Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD) is hoping to spark a resurgence of badminton.
With the country set to host the first-ever Philippine Junior International Series 2026 from August 4 to 9, the federation hopes the tournament will help reignite Filipinos' passion for the sport.
"The goal is to bring back yung boom ng badminton," said PBAD program director and former doubles player Kennie Asuncion. "We see a lot of potential, so sana makuha natin yung support to see what they can bring to the country."
Interest in tennis and other racket sports has surged in recent years, with Filipina sensation Alex Eala playing a major role in driving that growth.
READ: Alex Eala through to DC Open finals after beating Naomi Osaka
PBAD secretary-general Shawntel Nicole Nieto pointed out how tennis sparked a resurgence because of a prominent homegrown figure like Eala, something the federation also hopes to develop in badminton.
"We love our heroes," said Nieto. "The heroes that fight for us, that's what we try to bring forward in PBAD. We have those heroes, and we want the world, the public to know them."
For Nieto, that vision goes hand in hand with the federation's long-term goal of elevating Philippine badminton on the global stage.
"Our goal is very much aligned. The boom now is in recreational sports, so the challenge now is how to make that competitive," she said. "That's our goal. We want to make the next Filipino badminton Olympian."
Asuncion echoed the same vision.
"We're eyeing the 2028 Olympics with our senior athletes, and hopefully, our junior athletes could also qualify," said Asuncion, while also sharing what it would take to achieve that goal.
"Developing a team, a player takes time, so we ask for your patience. But at the same time, maraming nage-engage sa sports. It builds character, it builds yung totality ng pagkatao nila on court and off court."
Beyond producing elite athletes, PBAD also hopes to make badminton more accessible to Filipinos.
"We want to bring the Filipino public back to badminton," said Asuncion. "We want to give them opportunities to compete, win, and for Filipinos to fall back in love with badminton. Making the sport more accessible is one way of doing that."