Serena Williams secured the end-of-year world No 1 ranking without hitting a ball and Saturday meets Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Singapore.
Only Maria Sharapova could keep Williams from her fourth year-ending No 1 ranking, but the Russian needed to win in straight sets over Agnieszka Radwanska. Sharapova dropped the second set in a tiebreaker.
In Wozniacki, Williams will face the hottest player at the tournament. The Dane defeated Sharapova and Radwanska and ensured she won the White Group by rolling over Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-3 yesterday.
“I believe in myself and I believe in my skills. I’ve been playing well, so I believed I could beat anyone,” Wozniacki said. “I obviously also knew that if I wasn’t playing up to my best I could lose to all of them.
“So I’m really pleased about the way this week has gone so far. I played really well. This was a really great match for me.”
Wozniacki has enjoyed a resurgence in form in the second half of the season following poor displays in the first two grand slam tournaments, reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon and her second US Open final last month, which she lost to Williams.
She won the Istanbul Cup in July and reached the final of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last month to all but confirm her place in the elite eight-woman WTA Finals being held in Singapore for the first time.
“It’s been a really good six months. I’ve been playing really well and doing great results and things are going well,” she said. “So I’m happy and in a good place.
“Being here was always the goal from the start of the season. As I said before, I always believe in myself. Even though I had a little bit of a slow start to the season, I always believe.”
That self-belief has helped her cruise into the semi-finals but Wozniacki is refusing to look beyond her match against Williams, who owns a 9-1 head-to-head record against her, or even consider lifting the title on Sunday.
“But it’s a new tournament. It’s a new week. I’ve been playing well really. Again, I believe that if I play like I did today, doesn’t matter who’s on the other side. I can win,” the Dane said.
“I have two things in mind right now: one is my next match, and two the (New York City) marathon that’s getting closer and I’m getting a little nervous about.
“So those are the two things in my head. I’m not really thinking about a trophy yet. There is still quite a long way to go.”
Simona Halep, Ana Ivanovic and Williams finished with 2-1 records, with Ivanovic missing the semi-finals in a tiebreaker. Halep will meet Radwanska in the other semi-final today.
Radwanska would not have advanced without a Wozniacki victory over Kvitova later in the day.
“We talked,” Radwanska said.
“When I saw her, she was already, ‘I know, I know’. She knew what was going on. She wasn’t surprised.
“I think we are just going to go shopping, but with my credit card.”
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
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Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
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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
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
