Poland's Iga Swiatek will be among the top players in action in Abu Dhabi later this year. AFP
Poland's Iga Swiatek will be among the top players in action in Abu Dhabi later this year. AFP
Poland's Iga Swiatek will be among the top players in action in Abu Dhabi later this year. AFP
Poland's Iga Swiatek will be among the top players in action in Abu Dhabi later this year. AFP

Iga Swiatek and Daniil Medvedev among top players set for World Tennis League in Abu Dhabi


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Some of the top tennis players in the world will return to the UAE as the World Tennis League unveiled a star-studded line-up of players for the third season.

The tournament will see the best men's and women's players compete at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi from December 19 to 22 later this year.

Among those in action will be two Olympic gold medalists, five Grand Slam champions, six of the top 12 male players, and six of the top 10 female players.

World No2 Aryna Sabalenka, fresh off her recent US Open triumph, returns to the World Tennis League alongside top ranked Iga Swiatek, who secured bronze at the Paris Olympics as well as a third consecutive French Open title earlier this year.

Interestingly, on Friday Swiatek announced she has split with her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and as a result will not compete in next week's WTA tournament in Wuhan.

This year's Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova and women’s doubles Paris Olympics gold medalist Jasmine Paolini will be making their debut.

Other stars in the tournament are world No4 Elena Rybakina, Paula Badosa and Caroline Garcia.

In the men's section, world No5 Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who were part of the WTL 2023 title-winning team Eagles, will compete again at the competition. Also in action will be 2024 US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud.

Among the male stars, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Sumit Nagal and Aussie star Nick Kyrgios will also return for the show in Abu Dhabi.

The previous edition of the WTL attracted over 20,000 attendees and was broadcast live in more than 125 countries. The event featured world-class artists who performed at Yas Island.

Last year, the format saw players split into four teams with two matches every day from Day 1 to 3 with categories including men’s and women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles.

Concert ticket holders can secure discounted add-on ticket for the day's matches. Tickets are available at etihadarena.ae.

Players at WTL 2024

Women: Iga Swiątek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini, Barbora Krejcikova, Paula Badosa, Mirra Andreeva, Caroline Garcia

Men: Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Sumit Nagal, Nick Kyrgios

If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

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Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

RESULT

Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)

Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule

Thursday December 27

Men's quarter-finals

Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm

Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm

Women's exhibition

Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm

Friday December 28

5th place play-off 3pm

Men's semi-finals

Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm

Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm

Saturday December 29

3rd place play-off 5pm

Men's final 7pm

LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES

Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)

FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm

Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm

Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm

Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm 

Thursday

Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm

Sevilla v Roma  (one leg only)  8.55pm

FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm 

Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm 

MATCH INFO

Schalke 0

Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')

Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)

WHAT ARE NFTs?

     

 

    

 

   

 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.

 

An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

 

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

 
Updated: October 04, 2024, 7:15 PM