Many of the world's best tennis players will be in the UAE for the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open next week as part of the WTA Tour's Middle East swing. Here is everything you need to know about the tournament.
What is it?
The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open is a professional tennis tournament on the WTA Tour. It is a WTA 500 event, meaning the winner will earn 500 ranking points. This year's event is the second after it became a permanent fixture on the WTA Tour calendar last year.
When is it?
The 2024 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open will begin on Saturday, February 3, with the qualifiers and runs until the final on Sunday, February 11.
Where is it?
The tournament will take place at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City.
Who is playing?
The 2024 line-up is stacked with top players and household names. The 28-player field – of which 18 direct entries and four wildcards will be joined by six qualifiers – comprises 10 of the world's top 20 and five Grand Slam champions.
The tournament is headlined by Tunisian superstar Ons Jabeur, who will be joined by world No 5 Elena Rybakina, ninth-ranked Maria Sakkari and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who along with Emma Raducanu, accepted a wildcard.
The 20 players so far confirmed for direct entry into the main draw are:
Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan), Ons Jabeur (Tunisia), Maria Sakkari (Greece), Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic), Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil), Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) , Caroline Garcia (France) , Magda Linette (Poland) , Sorana Cirstea (Romania), Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine), Jasmine Paolini (Italy) , Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine), Emma Navarro (USA), Liudmila Samsonova, Daria Kasatkina , Anastasia Potapova, Veronika Kudermetova, Naomi Osaka (Japan, wildcard), Emma Raducanu (Great Britain, wildcard), Alexandra Eala (Philippines, wildcard)
Additionally, Saudi Arabia's first professional female tennis player, Yara Alhogbani, has been granted a wildcard for the qualifiers.
What is the schedule?
Saturday, February 3: Qualifiers
Sunday, February 4: Qualifiers
Monday, February 5: First round (Round of 32)
Tuesday, February 6: First round (Round of 32)
Wednesday, February 7: Second round (Round of 16)
Thursday, February 8: Second round (Round of 16)
Friday, February 9: Quarter-finals
Saturday, February 10: Semi-finals
Sunday, February 11: Final
Are tickets available?
Tickets for the tournament are available in three categories: Regular (Category 2), Premium (Category 1), and Courtside. Ticket prices based on each round and tier:
Saturday and Sunday qualifying: Regular (free), Premium (free), Courtside (free)
Monday and Tuesday first round: Regular (Dh25 for adults, free for children), Premium (Dh50 for adults, free for children), Courtside (Dh95 for adults and children)
Wednesday and Thursday second round: Regular (Dh25 for adults, free for children), Premium (Dh50 for adults, free for children), Courtside (Dh95 for adults and children)
Friday quarter-finals: Regular (Dh50 for adults, Dh25 for children), Premium (Dh155 for adults, Dh50 for children), Courtside (Dh595 for adults and children)
Saturday semi-finals: Regular (Dh65 for adults, Dh25 for children), Premium (Dh165 for adults, Dh75 for children), Courtside (Dh695 for adults and children)
Sunday final: Regular (Dh75 for adults, Dh25 for children), Premium (Dh175 for adults, Dh85 for children), Courtside (Dh695 for adults and children)
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.mubadalaabudhabiopen.com/tickets.
Is the tournament on TV?
For those unable to attend the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, the tournament will be broadcast live on Abu Dhabi TV.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
A Prayer Before Dawn
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai
Three stars
Naga
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The biog
Name: Greg Heinricks
From: Alberta, western Canada
Record fish: 56kg sailfish
Member of: International Game Fish Association
Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
Du Plessis plans his retirement
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last.
Du Plessis, 34, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside.
"The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday.
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis