Women’s tennis continues to strengthen its foothold in the Mena region with the announcement of a new WTA 500-level tournament set to take place in Abu Dhabi next month.
The introduction of the event, to be held February 5-12, means there will be three consecutive weeks of WTA tennis taking place in the Gulf, with the Qatar Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships scheduled for February 13 to 18, and February 19 to 25 respectively.
The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open is owned by industry giants IMG, who help run the Mubadala World Tennis Championship under Flash’s ownership each December at Zayed Sports City.
Last autumn, a WTA 250 event debuted in Monastir, Tunisia, with its sanction also owned by IMG but leased out to the Tunisian Tennis Federation.
The new Abu Dhabi tournament means there are now five tournaments on the WTA calendar taking place in the Mena region, which has seen a surge in the popularity of women’s tennis thanks to the rousing success of Tunisian world No 2 Ons Jabeur and Egypt’s first-ever top-50 player Mayar Sherif.
Jabeur, who made her second Mubadala World Tennis Championship appearance last month, will return to the capital for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Open.
“It means a lot to me to see the WTA have a stronger presence in the Middle East and North Africa,” Jabeur, 28, told The National.
“Seeing how the Arab region is growing and evolving makes me really happy. Hopefully this could show the new generation how everything is possible and could introduce them more to tennis and give them more opportunities. It’s really inspiring for me to witness and to be part of.”
This isn’t the first time Abu Dhabi has hosted a WTA tournament. In 2021, the emirate stepped up to host a one-off event – behind closed doors – to kick off the season when the pandemic caused disruption to normal scheduling.
The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, though, is set to be an annual tournament staged at the International Tennis Complex at Zayed Sports City.
“The Mena region has played an integral role in WTA’s legacy of giving women across the globe the opportunity to compete at the highest level,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon told The National.
“Since 2001, its representation and growth throughout the Tour has not only paved a visible pathway for future generations of Arab athletes, but also diversified the sporting landscape along the way.”
Jabeur has been making history for Tunisia, North Africa and the Arab world ever since she won the Roland Garros junior tournament back in 2011. Last year, she became the first African woman and first Arab player in the Open era to reach a Grand Slam final when she placed runner-up at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
The highest-ranked African woman in history, Jabeur has broken records and barriers every step of the way and Sherif – Egypt’s first-ever WTA title winner – is looking to follow in her footsteps.
“As athletes from this region see continued success, so does the marketability of women’s tennis,” added Simon.
“In celebrating the 50th anniversary of the WTA this year, we’re reminded how fortunate we are to embrace new events and regions around the world as it allows us to nurture future generations of talent and fans.
“The Middle East has equipped the WTA with great support for decades and its presence continues to influence further growth throughout the Arab world.”
More players will be announced in due course but a strong field can be expected given the practicality of having a three-week Middle East swing that allows players to compete in similar conditions with minimal travel in between.
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
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Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: RB Money To Burn, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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
