A little less than a year ago, Garbine Muguruza arrived late to Dubai and was coming off of a disappointing defeat to Petra Kvitova in the Qatar Open final.
The Spanish two-time major champion was ranked 16 in the world at the time and hadn’t won a title in nearly two years. A week later, Muguruza was hoisting Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships' shiny ‘coffee pot’ trophy, celebrating an impressive victory over Barbora Krejcikova in the final, and scooping her biggest title since 2017.
That run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis stadium proved to be an important turning point for Muguruza, who went on to win two more titles in 2021, including the prestigious season-ending WTA Finals in Guadalajara. The ex-world No 1 finished the year ranked three in the world, and re-established herself as a force on the women’s tour.
“It meant a lot,” Muguruza told reporters in Dubai on Sunday, reflecting her triumph in the emirates last year.
“It was such a weird tournament; coming last minute from Doha, without a team – well, without part of my team, playing so many matches in a row. I think it was a hell of an experience. But it was good, gave me a lot of confidence in myself.”
At 28 years of age, Muguruza is no rookie on tour. She has experienced incredible highs and challenging lows and continues to develop different ways to handle the roller coaster nature of the professional tennis circuit.
She arrives to Dubai this year on the back of an unexpected early exit at the Australian Open, where she fell to Alize Cornet in the second round.
“I was disappointed. It took a couple of days back home [to get over it],” Muguruza admitted.
“I'm like, ‘Okay, how I'm going to shake things up? How I'm going to come back stronger?’ We started training pretty fast, a lot kind of just to put the work, feel like, ‘Okay, I'm going to prepare better’. It’s always disappointing to lose in a Grand Slam that early. But I moved on. I'm here. This is a good tournament. It's in the past already.”
It’s always disappointing to lose in a Grand Slam that early. But I moved on. I'm here
Muguruza on her Australian Open defeat
Enjoying her time away from the court has been a priority for Muguruza. The Venezuela-born Spaniard has many hobbies, including baking, and also has an adventurous side she likes to explore any chance she gets.
In one of her offseasons, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. In another, she trained with Spain’s Civil Guard, which involved jumping from helicopters, going cave-diving and trekking mountains on search and rescue missions.
In the build-up to this Dubai tournament, Muguruza’s escapades were less daring but equally exciting as she went on a trip to the desert with her team to unwind ahead of her title defence campaign.
“Being so many years here in Dubai, I've never had the right day to go and do this experience. I said, ‘You know what, this is the year’. The tournament was so nice to actually organise a trip for us,” she said.
“We went in the desert. We did a little bit of a junior experience, I would say. We were a little scared to hurt ourselves in the dunes.
“It is so important to do fun things also because every week is hard, every tournament is difficult. We need that fun side of the work that we do. We like to do that as a team. I think it's very nice to just bond everybody.”
Muguruza was initially handed a brutal first test in Dubai against recent Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins, but luck swung in her favour thanks to the late withdrawal of Greece’s Maria Sakkari on Sunday, which caused a shift in the draw.
Both Muguruza and Collins will now kick off their respective journeys in Dubai against qualifiers or lucky losers.
Not that it mattered anyway to Muguruza, who is embracing her role as the defending champion.
“To be a target, it's always good. I'd rather be a target than no one,” she stated.
Muguruza has a charming presence in press conferences, and she has been particularly open about sharing her experiences in recent months – something she hasn’t necessarily found easy to maintain in the past, when she felt hard-done by the media during her tougher times on tour.
“It is true that I had a moment where I was a little bit more closed,” she explained on Sunday.
“I felt that, yeah, I mean, not as a complaint, but I did feel the media was tough on me. Of course, they had a lot of expectations. Once you don't maybe make everyone happy, they really go behind you. It's part of the business, part of how it works.
“I was like maybe I should be a little bit more quiet, maybe just go through it.
“I think I grew thick skin now and I'm happy to share good and bad. When it's a bad tournament, bad experience, I say, ‘Listen, it was really bad’. When it's good, also share it. I'm more relaxed now about that.”
Should she successfully defend her title, Muguruza already has a plan on how she will treat herself.
“I'm a big doughnut fan. These six-pack boxes, I love that. It's a good treat,” she said with a grin.
Sounds like a solid plan!
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
