Ons Jabeur pulls out of Dubai Duty Free Championships due to injury

Ons Jabeur has been forced to drop out of the Dubai Duty Free Championships after failing to recover from a knee problem.

The world No 6 had admitted on Sunday that she was struggling to be fit for the next tournament in the Middle East swing. And 24 hours later tournament organisers announced that the 29-year-old was not going to be able to play.

Jabeur, who was due to make her ninth appearance at the WTA 1000 tournament this week, has been struggling with fitness issues since the start of the calendar year.

“Regrettably Ons Jabeur has had to pull out of this year’s tournament,” said tournament organisers in a statement. “We know how much this event means to her, playing in front of a strong Arab support. We wish her all the best in her recovery from injury and look forward to seeing her back in Dubai very soon.”

The Tunisian was knocked out in Round 2 of the Australian Open by Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, the quarter-finals of the Abu Dhabi Open to Beatriz Haddad Maia and then in her opening match of the Qatar Open against Lesia Tsurenko.

Following the defeat against Haddad Maia, Jabeur looked visibly upset after clearly being hampered on court by the injury.

“Dear friends and family, I wanted to share with you all that my knee is not holding, it’s been unbearable to play with the pain and not being able to give my best on the court is frustrating,” Jabeur said in an official statement.

“After consultation of my doctors and team we have decided that I will have to withdraw from Dubai this week and go for more medical treatments.

“Looking forward to reconnect with all on the courts for the US swing. Thank you for your continuous support. Love you, Ons.”

It will clearly be a blow for Jabeur who was forced to miss the tournaments in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai last year after she underwent surgery on an enlarged nodule that was obstructing her airways.

The three-time Grand Slam finalist had been given a bye in the opening round and was due to face a qualifier in Round 2.

“I think it's the worst decision you can take because my heart wants to play and my body is not allowing so much,” Jabuer said on Saturday before the decision to withdraw had been made.

“I feel like I need to take the right decision and sometimes you have to take decisions where your heart is not agreeing with it. But all I know is that I'm doing my best to be ready for this tournament and be ready to play here and compete in front of amazing fans.”

Defending Dubai champion Barbora Krejcikova had already pulled out due to a back injury while four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka also said that she will not be competing at the tournament.

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Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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