Since 2009, Abu Dhabi has brought the world’s top ATP players each winter to Zayed Sports City to give the capital a taste of top-tier tennis.
Superstars such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have all made multiple appearances at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) – a three-day exhibition that had become a popular fixture on the UAE sports calendar. Its last three editions also featured a women’s match that brought the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova to the emirate.
The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of the MWTC this year. But in a surprise announcement this week, Abu Dhabi Sports Council confirmed a fully-fledged WTA tournament will take place in Abu Dhabi for the first time next month, with 64 of the world's best women's players set to descend on the International Tennis Centre for the opening week of the 2021 season.
World No 4 and reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin will headline the field, which also includes Ukrainian world No 5 Elina Svitolina, No 6 Karolina Pliskova, No 10 Aryna Sabalenka, No 12 Belinda Bencic, two-time Grand Slam champion and world No 15 Garbine Muguruza, and American sensation Coco Gauff. Tunisian star Ons Jabeur will also compete.
A cloud of uncertainty has surrounded both the men’s and women’s tennis tours and the calendars for the first seven weeks of the new season were announced just a few days ago.
The pandemic continues to wreak havoc with the schedule, and with travel restrictions still in place and events still being cancelled worldwide, the UAE has emerged as a safe haven for the sport and its players.
Head to any tennis court in Dubai right now and you can spot the likes of Federer, Bianca Andreescu, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov and many more practicing and getting ready for 2021.
The UAE has long been a popular pre-season destination for players and Dubai has hosted an ATP tournament since 1993, and a WTA one since 2001. But this year the country’s role in international tennis has become even more important with Abu Dhabi providing a secure environment for the start of the women’s tour and Dubai playing host to the Australian Open women’s qualifying rounds from January 10-13.
"I think the UAE is an amazing place that it kept itself so organised in terms of virus control and kept the country so safe and that's why you have these events happening in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This is only because of the country and how safe it is and how open it is about bringing people to come and play out here," Bharat Godkhindi, the tournament director of the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open, told The National.
I think the UAE is an amazing place that it kept itself so organised in terms of virus control and kept the country so safe and that's why you have these events happening in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
For the first time in its history the qualifying rounds of the Australian Open will take place outside Australia. Players heading Down Under for the opening Grand Slam of the season will board chartered flights provided by Tennis Australia from three locations – Dubai, Singapore and Los Angeles – which explains why so many players are already in the emirate.
We are living in difficult times but it’s been heartening to see how everyone is banding together in order to keep the sport viable and make this work.
Players will compete in one continent for qualifying spots in a main draw of a tournament taking place in a different continent. In Australia, players have committed to pair up in twos for their practice sessions during quarantine, and can only hit with the person they signed up for. The tournament in Abu Dhabi is being run by Godkhindi’s BrandPlus Inc in collaboration with the ADSC and the WTA, who is footing the bill to provide working opportunities for its players.
“We have no sponsors. The only sponsor is WTA right now. This is not being played for commercial reasons, it’s being played to give players jobs. The WTA have been very, very considerate and they’re thinking a lot about the players,” Godkhindi says.
“The ladies who rely on this for their income haven’t had jobs for a long time. This is a 500-level tournament with a 64 draw, because we wanted more players to play so everyone gets some money.
“Prize money is coming from the WTA. Abu Dhabi Sports Council have been a huge support; they’re supporting us in a big way, with the venue, with the visas, with allowing exceptions for players to come and play. Without them this couldn’t have happened, they’ve been amazing.”
There will be no spectators at either event but Sigi Meeuws, director of ZSC Academy, believes it will be a great experience for all involved.
“It is truly fantastic to be hosting this event as an inspiration for all junior tennis players in Abu Dhabi." Meeuws said. "It will be an especially great experience also for the ball kids who will support 64 of the best players in the world."
The advantage ZSC has is that there is plenty of open space surrounding the tennis complex, including a large rugby field that could be utilised by the players and their teams.
For now, the Abu Dhabi tournament is a one-off, coming to the rescue at a challenging time for the sport. The city has long voiced its intention to host a top-level official tournament but no commitments are being made at this time.
“The WTA calendar is pretty full on a normal year, and we’ve been lucky to have this,” Godkhindi explained. “Of course we want to - I do want to have an event in Abu Dhabi - but I’m not sure whether we can get it. It’s a long way away, we still have to survive 2021 with all the problems we have in the world.”
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
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General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
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Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
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Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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THE SPECS
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Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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All the Money in the World
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer
Four stars
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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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
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