Ons Jabeur will open her Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open campaign with a blockbuster second-round match against Emma Raducanu after the British wildcard came through her opening match in impressive style on Monday.
Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, recovered from a slow start against world No 36 Marie Bouzkova to claim a 6-4, 6-1 win in the last match of the day on Stadium Court at Zayed Sports City.
In a first set where both players struggled to hold serve, Raducanu found herself 2-0, 3-1, and 4-2 down but mounted a fine fightback, winning four straight games to take the set. The 21-year-old British player maintained her momentum in the second set, and after both players held serve for 1-1, she raced away with the match by winning five games in a row.
The victory, secured in one hour and 22 minutes, sets up a mouthwatering clash with Tunisian second seed Jabeur, who as one of the top four players in the draw, received a bye into the second round.
Jabeur and Raducanu have yet to meet on the WTA Tour, but the pair have played against each other at Zayed Sports City's International Tennis Centre, where in 2022 they participated in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event.
Speaking to The National in the lead-up to the tournament, Raducanu said she was happy to be patient on her road to recovery having missed most of last season to undergo wrist and ankle surgeries. While this was only one match, her performance against Bouzkova – in particular the last 12 games – will only heighten external expectations.
The former world No 10, currently ranked 296, played with controlled aggression and power, and once she found her range and rhythm, she proved too strong for Bouzkova.
Raducanu was particularly effective on return, winning 59 per cent on first-serve return points, and 71 per cent on Bouzkova's second serve to limit her opponent to just two service holds from a possible nine. She was also efficient on break points, converting seven of nine.
This was arguably Raducanu's most complete performance of the season so far, given the quality of an opponent who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2022 and has made five WTA Tour finals, winning one.
Jabeur should represent a significant step up in challenge, although the Tunisian world No 6 has hardly had an ideal start to the season. After opting to skip the Australian Open warm-up events, Jabeur was handily beaten in the second round at Melbourne Park by teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva.
A victory for either player in Abu Dhabi would provide an encouraging statement of their progress during the early weeks of the new season.
Raducanu's victory capped a long opening day at the tournament. First up was former world No 4 Caroline Garcia from France, who surrendered a one-set lead to lose 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 to Romanian world No 26 Sorana Cirstea.
That was followed by another marathon match between Americans Bernarda Pera and Ashlyn Krueger, with Krueger taking the win 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Brazilian sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia found the going easier against Chinese wild card Xiyu Wang, claiming a 6-2, 7-6 victory, but Russian seventh seed Daria Kasatkina needed more than two-and-a-half hours to defeat France’s Diane Parry 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Tuesday’s singles action starts at 11am on Court 1, where Czech qualifier Linda Noskova takes on Spanish lucky loser Sara Sorribes Tormo, before Filipino wild card Alexandra Eala makes her debut in Stadium Court’s opening match against Poland’s Magda Linette.
That is followed by the highly-anticipated match between Naomi Osaka and Danielle Collins, while over on Court 1 there’s an all-Chinese clash between Xinyu Wang and Lin Zhu.
British qualifier Heather Watson then faces Russian ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova, and Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina plays Italian lucky loser Lucia Bronzetti. The singles matches conclude with Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko against Russian eighth seed, and last year’s finalist, Liudmila Samsonova.
There is also a doubles match not to be missed late on Court 1 as Jabeur partners with Osaka to play Chinese pair Wang and Saisai Zheng.
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
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
SPECS
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More on Coronavirus in France
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
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TRAINING FOR TOKYO
A typical week's training for Sebastian, who is competing at the ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon on March 8-9:
- Four swim sessions (14km)
- Three bike sessions (200km)
- Four run sessions (45km)
- Two strength and conditioning session (two hours)
- One session therapy session at DISC Dubai
- Two-three hours of stretching and self-maintenance of the body
ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon
For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Bharatanatyam
A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
