A new padel tennis centre, licensed by Austrian sports company Head, is coming to Abu Dhabi.
The 2,200-square-metre Head Arena is set to open in Mussaffah on February 21.
The National had a first look inside the facility, which houses five professional padel courts. Those who want a bit of privacy when playing can book a sixth VIP court. The space has capacity for 60 spectators.
Head Arena also has its own branded juice bar and a retail shop that offers accessories, shoes and other sports apparel by the company.
Court rental rates start at Dh300 for 60 minutes or per game. Other services include private and group coaching for children and adults, starting at Dh350 per session. The facility also has a membership option from Dh795 per month.
Members will have unlimited access to the courts and can borrow racquets for free, and take advantage of a 90-minute clinic once a month. They will also get discounts on retail offerings.
The arena will eventually be home to its own professional padel team.
“It is our pleasure to welcome everyone in the community to visit, train and learn,” said Ravi Menghani, managing partner of Xische Ventures, the investment group that owns Head Arena. Xische and Head plan to launch 10 more facilities across the Mena region, including two this year.
The new facility comes as padel gains traction in the UAE. As of last year, there were about 350 padel courts across the country, according to Eisa Al Marzooqi, a board member of the UAE Padel Association.
Padel is something of a cross between tennis and squash. It is typically played in doubles, on an enclosed court that is slightly smaller than a tennis court.
Scoring is the same as in tennis, but the balls are similar and padel players use solid, stringless bats. The court's walls also play a role in a match, as balls can be bounced off them, as in the game of squash.
The sport is relatively new, with its origins being traced back to Mexico in the 1960s. It is currently one of the fastest-growing sports, with more than 25 million players globally, according to the International Padel Federation.
Its rise in popularity can be attributed to the simplicity of the game, especially in comparison to tennis, which “can get technical”, said Audrey Descols of Matcha Club, a padel venue in Dubai. “The thing about padel is that you don’t need to get to a certain level to have fun.”
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
Results
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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