A little less than a year ago, Garbine Muguruza arrived late to Dubai and was coming off of a disappointing defeat to Petra Kvitova in the Qatar Open final.
The Spanish two-time major champion was ranked 16 in the world at the time and hadn’t won a title in nearly two years. A week later, Muguruza was hoisting Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships' shiny ‘coffee pot’ trophy, celebrating an impressive victory over Barbora Krejcikova in the final, and scooping her biggest title since 2017.
That run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis stadium proved to be an important turning point for Muguruza, who went on to win two more titles in 2021, including the prestigious season-ending WTA Finals in Guadalajara. The ex-world No 1 finished the year ranked three in the world, and re-established herself as a force on the women’s tour.
“It meant a lot,” Muguruza told reporters in Dubai on Sunday, reflecting her triumph in the emirates last year.
“It was such a weird tournament; coming last minute from Doha, without a team – well, without part of my team, playing so many matches in a row. I think it was a hell of an experience. But it was good, gave me a lot of confidence in myself.”
At 28 years of age, Muguruza is no rookie on tour. She has experienced incredible highs and challenging lows and continues to develop different ways to handle the roller coaster nature of the professional tennis circuit.
She arrives to Dubai this year on the back of an unexpected early exit at the Australian Open, where she fell to Alize Cornet in the second round.
“I was disappointed. It took a couple of days back home [to get over it],” Muguruza admitted.
“I'm like, ‘Okay, how I'm going to shake things up? How I'm going to come back stronger?’ We started training pretty fast, a lot kind of just to put the work, feel like, ‘Okay, I'm going to prepare better’. It’s always disappointing to lose in a Grand Slam that early. But I moved on. I'm here. This is a good tournament. It's in the past already.”
It’s always disappointing to lose in a Grand Slam that early. But I moved on. I'm here
Muguruza on her Australian Open defeat
Enjoying her time away from the court has been a priority for Muguruza. The Venezuela-born Spaniard has many hobbies, including baking, and also has an adventurous side she likes to explore any chance she gets.
In one of her offseasons, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. In another, she trained with Spain’s Civil Guard, which involved jumping from helicopters, going cave-diving and trekking mountains on search and rescue missions.
In the build-up to this Dubai tournament, Muguruza’s escapades were less daring but equally exciting as she went on a trip to the desert with her team to unwind ahead of her title defence campaign.
“Being so many years here in Dubai, I've never had the right day to go and do this experience. I said, ‘You know what, this is the year’. The tournament was so nice to actually organise a trip for us,” she said.
“We went in the desert. We did a little bit of a junior experience, I would say. We were a little scared to hurt ourselves in the dunes.
“It is so important to do fun things also because every week is hard, every tournament is difficult. We need that fun side of the work that we do. We like to do that as a team. I think it's very nice to just bond everybody.”
Muguruza was initially handed a brutal first test in Dubai against recent Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins, but luck swung in her favour thanks to the late withdrawal of Greece’s Maria Sakkari on Sunday, which caused a shift in the draw.
Both Muguruza and Collins will now kick off their respective journeys in Dubai against qualifiers or lucky losers.
Not that it mattered anyway to Muguruza, who is embracing her role as the defending champion.
“To be a target, it's always good. I'd rather be a target than no one,” she stated.
Muguruza has a charming presence in press conferences, and she has been particularly open about sharing her experiences in recent months – something she hasn’t necessarily found easy to maintain in the past, when she felt hard-done by the media during her tougher times on tour.
“It is true that I had a moment where I was a little bit more closed,” she explained on Sunday.
“I felt that, yeah, I mean, not as a complaint, but I did feel the media was tough on me. Of course, they had a lot of expectations. Once you don't maybe make everyone happy, they really go behind you. It's part of the business, part of how it works.
“I was like maybe I should be a little bit more quiet, maybe just go through it.
“I think I grew thick skin now and I'm happy to share good and bad. When it's a bad tournament, bad experience, I say, ‘Listen, it was really bad’. When it's good, also share it. I'm more relaxed now about that.”
Should she successfully defend her title, Muguruza already has a plan on how she will treat herself.
“I'm a big doughnut fan. These six-pack boxes, I love that. It's a good treat,” she said with a grin.
Sounds like a solid plan!
The five pillars of Islam
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,950m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.
4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The%20specs
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Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
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
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Results
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m; Winner: MM Al Balqaa, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Qaiss Aboud (trainer)
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: AF Rasam, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mujeeb, Richard Mullen, Salem Al Ketbi
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Pat Dobbs, Ibrahim Aseel
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Nibraas, Richard Mullen, Nicholas Bachalard
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
Sour%20Grapes
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
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