A year ago, after the first eight weeks of the season, Serena Williams was at the top of the WTA rankings, followed by Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, Ekaterina Makarova and Andrea Petkovic making up the top 10.
Fast forward 12 months and Williams is still at the top, with a comfortable lead of 3,545 points, but few others have managed to retain their positions.
Sharapova, struggling with injuries, has played just the Australian Open and slipped down the rankings, to No 7.
Halep, also struggling with health issues, has lost five of her eight matches in 2016 and has been knocked out of her last three tournaments without winning a match, twice by opponents ranked outside the top 100.
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Kvitova, the current world No 9, has fared no better, losing five of her seven completed matches, while Wozniacki, a first-round loser at the Australian Open, is now No 22.
Ivanovic, No 16, has endured a mixed bag as well, starting the year with two first-round exits before stringing together a few wins in the following three tournaments.
Bouchard? She is No 52 at present following a horrendous sophomore year, during which she lost 18 of her 30 matches.
Makarova’s ranking has also been in a free fall, down to No 32 in the world having lost three matches on the trot. Petkovic, who was on the verge of quitting tennis last year, is No 24.
Radwanska, an 11-year veteran of the tour, is the only player from that top 10 of March 2, 2015, who has actually improved her position. And she is also the only one to have won a title this year.
Williams and Sharapova have appeared in only one tournament until now, but Halep, Kvitova, Wozniacki, Ivanovic and even Garbine Muguruza, who started the year at No 3, have played more than one event and have yet to reach the final.
Instead, the names of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Alize Cornet, Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, Venus Williams, Francesca Schiavone feature on the WTA’s winners roll for 2016.
Sloane Stephens, world No 23, is the only repeat winner on the tour in the first two months of the season, which has seen 11 different champions in 12 tournaments so far.
What do these first two months of the year tell us then?
That the WTA Tour, in the absence of Williams and Sharapova, is as orderly as the Dubai-Sharjah traffic at peak hours.
Dread the day, then, when these two superstars call time on their careers.
Because women’s tennis seems to have plenty of winners, but few champions.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
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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Need to know
The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours.
The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.
When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend are January-February and September-October. Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.
Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.
