Iga Swiatek will have a target on her back once again when the new tennis season commences and the world No 1 insists that “rivalry is welcome” as players like Ons Jabeur attempt to dethrone her in 2023.
Swiatek has had one of the most dominant seasons in recent years on the WTA tour, clinching eight titles in 2022, including two Grand Slams, and enjoying an uninterrupted reign at the summit of the rankings since she rose to the top spot last April.
Tunisian Jabeur is the world No 2 and has openly declared her ambition to become Africa’s and the Arab world’s first ever world No 1 next season.
At the moment, Swiatek has more than double the number of ranking points that Jabeur has, but the Wimbledon and US Open finalist is also in a strong position to gain ground due to the fact that she rose to No 2 without having any points from three of the four Grand Slams in 2022.
Swiatek, who helped guide Team Kites to a runner-up finish in the World Tennis League (WTL) in Dubai this week with three singles wins and one defeat, is well aware Jabeur and others will be coming for her in 2023 and the 21-year-old Pole is relishing the opportunity to form rivalries with her peers.
“I think we all need somebody who is going to push ourselves to the limit,” Swiatek told The National at Coca Cola Arena on the sidelines of the WTL.
“It gave me a lot of motivation last season when I played against Ash (Barty) in Adelaide. For the next couple of months, before she retired, my main goal was to learn how to play against her a little bit and maybe be able to beat her.
“For sure rivalry is welcome, I can totally take a lot from that. So I think it’s great that we have so many people we can compete against.”
Swiatek has spent a portion of her pre-season training in Dubai in the build-up to the WTL and says she enjoyed the inaugural edition of the mixed team event.
She didn’t make it to any of the post-match concerts though but added that she could be lured to attending if any of her favourite artists were invited to perform.
“They need to get Taylor Swift or Adele, so then I’m going to come,” she said with a laugh.
“I think it’s a great event and it has huge potential for the future. Hopefully I’m going to be invited again, I would really look forward to that. For sure we’re having fun and it’s a totally different vibe having teammates on the bench.”
Swiatek is feeling refreshed after a holiday in the Caribbean, in which she managed to switch off completely from tennis – something she says is a rare accomplishment for her, with the sport always playing in the back of her mind.
She says eating good food was the highlight of her holiday and she also enjoyed reading an Italian saga that focused on a Sicilian family in the 19th century. Bookworm Swiatek teased she will be launching a reading challenge soon, to engage her fans and encourage them to read along with her.
The three-time major champion says her pre-season training was mainly spent focusing on technical aspects of her game she wanted to improve, and it was pretty much business as usual, despite her new status as the leader of the tour.
“It wasn’t any different to any other pre-season that I had. In terms of goals I’m still kind of figuring that out. Because I usually set them before New Year’s, so I kind of combine that with New Year's Eve and with the whole world actually having new goals,” she added.
“It’s kind of weird because I’ve never been in such a situation where I had such a great season. So for sure I need to approach next year a little bit differently. But on the other hand my main goal is to continue what I’ve been doing last year and not really come back to all these matches that I played, because that may really kind of make me lazy.
“But still focus on just the next one and remember that in tennis anything can happen in any tournament. I just want to keep being consistent. But the specific goals I think they’re going to come when I’m going to be closer to the tournament.”
Swiatek will begin her 2023 campaign in Brisbane where she and Hubert Hurkacz will be leading Team Poland in the newly-introduced United Cup.
Swiatek’s Kites lost to the Hawks in the WTL final on Saturday, as Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina pulled off the upset over the Polish world No 1 6-3, 6-1 in the opening clash of the evening.
Felix Auger-Aliassime got the Kites back on track with victory over Alexander Zverev in straight sets but the Hawks sealed the deal 37-25 in their favour, thanks to the efforts of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Dominic Thiem in mixed doubles.
“I’m happy that I won something this year. It’s been a rough year for me, obviously I haven’t played in six and a half months, so to finish the year off like that is amazing for me and the whole team,” said Zverev, who injured his ankle during his Roland Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal and hasn’t competed officially since.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The five pillars of Islam
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Other key dates
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Finals draw: December 2
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Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
