Elena Rybakina is set to begin the defence of her Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open crown when the tournament returns for its third edition in the capital next month.
Zayed Sports City once again plays host to the WTA 500 event that runs from February 1-8 and also features three-time Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur, as well as recent Australian Open semi-finalist Paula Badosa.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka won the inaugural tournament in 2021 while Olympic gold medal winner Belinda Bencic took the honours in 2023 after a one-year gap.
The National sat down with tournament director, Nigel Gupta, to discuss what we can expect from the upcoming event.
How proud are you of the success of the tournament since its return to the calendar?
We are massively proud of the success of this tournament. I think we've seen substantial growth since we first introduced it.
The first edition came about quite quickly, as you know. So, we had to put together the tournament within approximately four weeks.
But we saw double the occupancy last year, introducing community programmes that really resonated with schools and the next generation of players. Hopefully for 2025, we're going to see another increase on that as well.
How easy is it to attract top level players?
We are a 500 level event. So we are very, very high up in terms of the standards. You know, that naturally attracts players that want to come and play and earn points early on in the season.
We're also kind of perfectly positioned on the calendar. So once players are finished in Australia for the first Grand Slam of the season, they're heading this way anyway. We've created now what is probably classed as a Middle Eastern swing with Abu Dhabi first, followed by Doha and Dubai.
You can see, from the first two editions and the upcoming one, that the top talent want to come here. They want to play here and participate. And I think seeing the number of players that are returning again is really positive for us.
We've got a great facilities here. The weather's great. We work extra hard to ensure the players feel like they are taken care of. They've got access to go and visit sites around Abu Dhabi. And I think they enjoy that aspect of things as well.
What is the feedback that you have received from the players?
Overall, it is positive feedback, and we're always open to making changes – improving the quality of facilities or the playing surfaces or whatever it might be.
We want to make sure these players are in the best condition to perform on court in front of the crowds. We are always looking to improve on what we deliver. But I think overall the players have been pretty happy so far.
What did you think of last year's tournament? Did you feel that there was a difference from the first year?
Yes, massively. Last year really showed the intent of the tournament. We've got a really, strong partner in Abu Dhabi Sports Council, and they've got a strong ambition to grow this event. And I think we saw that last year.
We, had a huge schools programme, which is obviously really important. For us, we don't want to just come here and showcase the best players in the world, which we do.
But we also want to make sure we're introducing tennis to the next generation and providing a pathway for the future growth of players from the UAE.
We had a few days where the stadium was full with schoolchildren and kids, and that was really nice to see. I think the players enjoyed playing in front of them as well.
Have you made any significant changes from last year?
This year, in terms of how we are growing and adapting, we've really focused on the off-court experience. We know that the on-court tennis will take care of itself.
We've got the best names coming over here to participate. So we we've expanded our off-court fan experience for 2025. We've moved to a 15,000-square metre activation area. The mobile, the tennis village, which is going to be made up of a variety of kids activities.
We've got live entertainment and music throughout the week. So it's going to be a huge experience for fans that want to come down and just have a good time with family.
Has low ticket prices worked in attracting more visitors?
Yeah, definitely. We want this tournament to be as accessible as possible for everyone. We want people to be introduced to tennis and to come again and watch tennis year on year. We priced it at a point where we think it will attract a wider audience as well.
Looking at some of the statistics, 61 per cent of attendees are men. Are you working on getting more women to attend, since it's a women's tournament?
Definitely. We're always looking at ways in which we can attract more women to participate in and watch the tennis.
The WTA put in a lot of effort as well on their side, and they're looking at ways to promote female tennis across the world, maximising sponsorship revenue and trying to grow the game that way.
But I think it's important for tournaments like us locally to be doing whatever we can as well. And it's through programmes that we've introduced, such as the road team community programme and also all the school programmes that we've introduced.
We want to try to encourage the next generation of female players, female Emirati players as well, to come and hopefully one day play on the courts here as well.
It's very important for tournaments to be doing whatever they can. On a local level, community initiatives really put the put the sport in front of as many people as we can and hopefully grow in that way.
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Coco Gauff celebrates after beating Qinwen Zheng to win the WTA Finals at King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh, on November 9, 2024. Reuters -
United States' Coco Gauff after beating Zheng Qinwen of China 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. AFP -
Coco Gauff holds the Billie Jean King Trophy after her three-set victory over Qinwen Zheng. Getty Images -
Qinwen Zheng after losing to Coco Gauff. Reuters -
Coco Gauff after winning match point to claim her first WTA Finals crown at the age of 20 and become the youngest player to win the title since Maria Sharapova in 2004. Reuters -
Coco Gauff celebrates after beating Qinwen Zheng after fighting back from 2-0 and 5-3 down in the deciding set. Reuters -
Qinwen Zheng had won a tour-leading 31 matches since Wimbledon going into the final. Getty Images -
Coco Gauff became the youngest WTA Finals finalist, at the age of 20, since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Getty Images -
Seventh seed Qinwen Zheng defeated Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini in the group stage, also losing to Aryna Sabalenka, before battling past Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 7-5 in the semi-finals. Reuters -
Coco Gauff beat the No 1 and No 2 in the world rankings - Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek - on her way to the title in Riyadh. AP -
Zheng Qinwen had won six career titles heading into the match, including claiming Olympic gold at the Paris Games this summer. AFP -
Coco Gauff celebrates after winning a point against Zheng Qinwen. AFP -
Third seed Coco Gauff had won nine WTA Tour titles, and three this season, going into the match. Reuters -
Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng before the final in Riyadh. The pair had only faced each other once before, when Gauff won 7-6, 6-1 in the Italian Open quarter-finals in Rome earlier this year. AP
Saudi Arabia hosted the WTA Finals. What are your views on that?
The region has always had major tennis events for many years. And we have been along that journey since 2009 when we hosted exhibition events here in Abu Dhabi.
The region has always had a strong eye on tennis and they [fans] enjoy seeing the best players come and perform here. Saudi is not different in that respect.
They're obviously looking at the best, the biggest sports and the best tournaments to host. And the WTA Finals kind of fell into that as well.
We are doing well as a region. Tennis is a growing sport here as well and we're doing everything we can locally to do that. But it also helps when the spotlight is shone on the region. When you've got the WTA Finals in the region, it helps tennis in general. It’s exciting.
So what about your future plans when it comes to this tournament?
I do think, with the kind of support that we have and the key stakeholders like Mubadala, like Abu Dhabi Sports Council, their ambition is to always bring these world-class events to Abu Dhabi and then grow them to reach their potential.
The focus is on doing the best we can with this event. Grow it to the maximum, like we have managed in the first two years.
Do you think this region can grow to be a power player and one of the dominant forces in tennis?
Yes, I think this region can grow to be one of the dominant forces in tennis. It has already shown that. We've obviously had major tournaments here for many, many years.
Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open is now firmly on the calendar and up there with some of the biggest, but we see it throughout the year with players wanting to come and train here in their off-season.
The facilities are amazing. A lot of players have moved to the UAE now as well. So, I think that is doing its part as well and showing how important tennis is to the region.
You have Ons Jabeur attending, obviously a huge name when it comes to the Arab region. How important is her presence for this tournament?
Naturally Ons being from the region – the most successful Arab tennis player – she resonates well with the fans here in the UAE. And it's really important, for us to ensure that she's here and playing.
She's a pivotal factor in the growth of tennis as well, especially in this region, because a lot of the next generation look up to her. They idolise her. They want to see her playing here on the court.
For the local girls and boys to come down and watch Ons play on the courts here in Abu Dhabi is amazing.
