It was a day of mixed fortunes for former Dubai champions at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Wednesday as Belinda Bencic booked her place in the quarter-finals but Jelena Ostapenko was sent crashing out.
Bencic, who won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in 2019 and is seeded second this week, kept alive her bid for a UAE double with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the first match of the evening session.
However, defending Dubai champion Ostapenko was defeated by China's Qinwen Zheng in the first match of the day on Stadium Court, the highly-rated 20-year-old claiming a 7-6, 6-1 win.
Having received a bye into the second round, Bencic faced a tricky opponent in Kostyuk and the first set developed into a close battle, with neither player wavering on serve. That was until Bencic created two break point chances in the seventh game, taking the second to lead 4-3. Two solid service holds later, she had claimed the opening set.
Bencic took immediate charge of the second set with a break for a 2-0 lead but Kostyuk clawed her way back into the contest, first breaking to level at 2-2 and again for 5-3, giving herself a chance to serve for the set and level the match. Bencic quickly rediscovered her level, though, to reel off four straight games to take the win.
"I thought it was a really good level. It was a good first match to get into the tournament," Olympic champion Bencic, 25, said. "I was expecting a tough match against Marta, so I was happy with how things went."
On receiving a bye to the second round, Bencic added: "It's an advantage but not really because you might need a first round to get into the tournament and you face a player who's already played a match. It can be a plus and a minus."
At the opposite end of the draw, Zheng demonstrated why she is one of the most exciting young talents on the WTA Tour after an impressive win over Ostapenko.
Zheng, 20, took a marathon first set following a 22-point tiebreak, before easing through the second to claim a 7-6, 6-1 victory. The Chinese world No 29 will face either Russian top seed Daria Kasatkina or Switzerland's Jil Teichmann in the quarter-finals.
It was Zheng's second win over Ostapenko in as many meetings, having beaten the former French Open champion at the US Open last year.
"[Ostapenko] plays really aggressive and fast but at the same time I knew that if I stay there she will lose patience," Zheng said. "She's can beat anyone and to beat her you have to run a lot. I'm happy because I did what I had to do to get the win."
Veronika Kudermetova, who like Bencic received a bye, opened her campaign with a straight-sets win over Belgium's Elise Mertens as the Russian fourth seed aims to go one better than her last visit to Abu Dhabi.
Kudermetova reached the final of the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open in January 2021 and returned to the court with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over former world No 12 Mertens.
"It was a very good performance from me," said Kudermetova, who will play either eighth-seeded compatriot Liudmila Samsonova or Czech Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-finals. "I always like to play in the Middle East and I'm super happy to be back here."
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Company Fact Box
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.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
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
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
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