A mix of the young and old, plus the current crop, gears up for a fierce battle in the next two weeks as the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala tennis tournament kicks off its new season today with the Actifit Open national age-grouper in Valenzuela City.

Alexa Milliam, who dominated the last quarter of last year’s edition of the country’s biggest talent-search, banners the cast in the girls’ 14- and 16-and-under divisions, upbeat but wary of her chances against a souped up field in the Group 1 tournament presented by Dunlop.