Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf: Acena Sisters – Trailblazer

THE ACENA SISTERS

Tennis Players

Watch out, Venus and Serena! A new breed of sibling tennis champs is on the rise, and it goes by the name of The Acena Sisters. Renee and Bea have been displaying prodigious skill in tennis from a very young age, and through hard work and discipline, they have individually become exemplary champions in their sport. In 2016, Renee reached the seminals of both the singles and doubles categories of the Asian U14 Tennis Tournament held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in November. She also reached the semifinals of girls’ U14 category of the PCA Open 2016, held in the Philippines. On the other hand, Bea won the Masters Finals in the Clark Francis Tennis Academy for the girls’ U14 and U18 categories last May. For her victory, she was given an all-expense paid trip to watch the French Open 2016 at Roland Garros in Paris.

In addition to their impressive skill and talent, Renee and Bea exhibit a level of dedication and professionalism that belies their young age.  Of the secret to her success, Bea professes: “The saying ‘There is no substitute for hard work’ is actually what has propelled me to where I am today as far as my fledging tennis career is concerned. I am not the most athletically gifted girl out there, but I make up for it with hard work. My practices are marked by fierce intensity, which I also bring to my matches. I believe that winning is a direct consequence of the amount of work one puts in.”

Renee offers a more intense point of view: “I hate to lose. In every match, I always come in with the mindset of winning it. And because of that, I never give up, and play each point as if it were my last. Of course, I do lose matches, but I always treat each loss as a learning experience, which helps me improve on my game going forward. For anyone aspiring to be good at any sport, and in life for that matter, work hard and believe in yourself. I am a firm believer that if one works hard, dreams do come true.”

Photo by Alex Callueng; Photography Assistant – Bethoven Filomeno Special thanks to – Giordano, Nikon, Liali Jewellery, Lulu, Mitsubishi and Western Union.