Ons Jabeur said she is "very excited" by the prospect of playing in the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia this year and believes hosting the season-finale tournament in the kingdom can enhance opportunities for tennis players throughout the Arab world.
Saudi Arabia are in talks with the WTA over hosting the prestigious Finals – comprising the top-eight players in the rankings – and a decision is expected to be made in the next couple of weeks.
The kingdom has already been confirmed as the hosts of the ATP Next Gen Finals, featuring the leading under-21 male players, after agreeing a four-year partnership with the ATP. It will be the first time Saudi Arabia will host a professional tennis tournament.
Now the WTA Tour's season finale event could follow suit, and Jabeur has thrown her support behind the possibility of the kingdom hosting the tournament.
"As an Arab player, I'm very excited to be there," Jabeur, 28, said during her pre-US Open press conference on Saturday. "I'm someone pushing for change, pushing to give more opportunities, especially for women.
"I know in Saudi Arabia they are changing things and evolving. I was there last year to give a speech and it was very nice meeting a lot of amazing women."
Jabeur is a trailblazer for Arab female sport having set numerous milestones during her tennis career. Among her many achievements, the former world No 2 is the highest-ranked Arab or African player in WTA and ATP history, and is the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final, which she has achieved three times.
Jabeur was also the first Arab woman to win a WTA Tour title, achieved at the Birmingham Classic in 2021, and she has since won a further three trophies, including a Masters at the Madrid Open.
Making her achievements even more impressive, Jabeur received minimal support from the Tunisian Tennis Federation as a junior and did not have access to the sort of infrastructure, facilities and opportunities provided by larger federations like the Lawn Tennis Association in the UK and the USTA in the United States.
Given her own journey, Jabeur is a passionate advocate of creating more opportunities for youth tennis players in the Arab region and feels hosting a tournament like the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia can be significant.
"For me, I was trying to push for tennis in Saudi Arabia," Jabeur said. "I think it's a great step and will help the Arab world have more tennis players and get more involved in sports.
"If they play there, and hopefully I qualify, it will be a great honour and opportunity to play, meet a lot of women who tell me they look up to me, and do a lot of great things together."
Jabeur, currently ranked world No 7, will be aiming for a strong end to a rollercoaster season to secure her place at the Finals, starting at the US Open next week. She returns to Flushing Meadows almost 12 months on from her run to the final, where she was defeated by world No 1 Iga Swiatek.
That defeat came just weeks after a heartbreaking loss to Elena Rybakina in the Wimbledon final, and in a case of history repeating itself, the Tunisian arrived in New York this year after another devastating defeat at Wimbledon, where she was beaten to the trophy by Marketa Vondrousova.
After this year's Wimbledon final, which she described as "the most painful loss of my career", Jabeur stepped away from the tour for a few weeks to reset, opting to skip the Montreal Masters before making her return at the Cincinnati Open.
"I honestly wasn't ready to play in Montreal and come back on tour so soon [after Wimbledon]," Jabeur said. "I needed some time for myself. They say time heals all wounds... I'm still waiting a bit. The Wimbledon loss still hurts but it's better than it was a month ago.
"I'm 28 years old now and I've learned from the mistakes of playing so many tournaments all the time. I was proud of myself that I took a step back, spent some time with my family, and got ready for the next tournaments."
It has been a turbulent season at times for Jabeur, who has been affected by various injuries throughout the year and was forced to miss the WTA Tour's Middle East swing after undergoing minor surgery.
But the focus now is on the US Open, where she begins her bid for an elusive maiden major title against Colombia's Camila Osorio on Tuesday.
"I'm always trying to be 100 per cent healthy but it's tough," Jabeur said. "I'm doing everything possible to be ready. It's looking great so I'm just going to take it one step at a time and see how it goes.
"I'm happy to be here, it's a great honour to return as a finalist. Let's see; I've been practicing really well this week and really excited to play."
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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UNSC Elections 2022-23
Seats open:
- Two for Africa Group
- One for Asia-Pacific Group (traditionally Arab state or Tunisia)
- One for Latin America and Caribbean Group
- One for Eastern Europe Group
Countries so far running:
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
More coverage from the Future Forum
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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THREE
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The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:
- 1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
- 2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
- 3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
- 4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
- 5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
- 6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
- 7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
- 8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
- 9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
- 10. Richie Porte (Australia / BMC Racing) 4
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
