Jelena Ostapenko began her bid for the UAE double with a hard-fought victory over Danielle Collins in the first round of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Monday evening.
Ostapenko, who won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title last season, recovered from a second-set wobble to claim a 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 win against 2022 Australian Open finalist Collins.
Collins took the first initiative to lead 5-3, but Ostapenko won the next four games to close out the opening set. The Latvian's momentum was immediately lost as Collins broke twice at the start of the second set for a 4-0 lead and once more to take the match into a decider.
Ostapenko drew first blood in the final set, breaking after a marathon third game, only for her American opponent to level at 4-4. The 2017 French Open champion struck out in front again at a crucial time, breaking Collins for a 6-5 lead, before clinching the victory when Collins sent a forehand return wide.
The sixth seed will take on either fast-rising Chinese star Qinwen Zheng or Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino in the second round.
In other matches, Belgium's Elise Mertens produced the most convincing victory of the day, crushing Italian Martina Trevisan 6-0, 6-2 in just 75 minutes, and Annet Kontaveit set aside her frustrating start to the season with a come-from-behind 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory over China's Shuai Zhang.
The Estonian world No 18 arrived in Abu Dhabi with a 1-3 win-loss record, but started strong against Zhang, breaking in the second game to establish a 3-0 lead. However, the Chinese world No 23 roared back to win the next five games before serving out the set.
Kontaveit pulled herself level after a second-set tiebreak but had four earlier set-point chances to take the match into the decider. The third set was another close battle, with Kontaveit earning the only break in the third game and she will take on either American Shelby Rogers or Canada's Leyla Fernandez in the next round.
Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk came through a see-saw match against Sorana Cirstea, defeating the Romanian 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 to set up a second-round match with Swiss second seed Belinda Bencic.
Day 2 will begin with Qinwen up against Marino on Court 1 from 2pm, followed by the match between Rogers and Fernandez. Singles action on Court 1 continues in the evening session with Switzerland's Jil Teichmann against Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska, and concludes with former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic taking on Romanian qualifier Elena Gabriela Ruse.
The Stadium Court schedule starts at 3pm with Brazilian sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia facing Czech Marie Bouzkova, before Spain's Paula Badosa plays eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia.
The evening session kicks off from 7pm with arguably the match of the round as Spain's Garbine Muguruza and Czech Karolina Pliskova engage in a battle of the former world No 1s. That is followed by former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada against Ukrainian qualifier Yulia Putintseva.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
CREW
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
