Naomi Osaka could be set for a tantalising second-round match against top seed Elena Rybakina at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open after the draw for the tournament was made on Saturday.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka was handed a wildcard for the WTA 500 tournament, which begins at Zayed Sports City on Monday, and will face a qualifier in the opening round. Should the Japanese star come through that, then a showdown with world No 5 Rybakina awaits.
As one of the top four seeds, Kazakhstan’s Rybakina received a bye through to the second round.
Osaka, 26, is in the early stages of her comeback to the WTA Tour having missed the entire 2023 season to have a baby. Her daughter Shai was born last July. Prior to that, the former world No 1 had cut short her 2022 season in September to focus on her mental health.
Osaka, currently ranked 759 but playing under a protected ranking of 46, has competed in two events so far this season; she made the second round of the Brisbane International and lost in the first round of the Australian Open. The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open will therefore be the third event on her comeback trail.
Rybakina, meanwhile, will be aiming to bounce back in Abu Dhabi after a disappointing showing in Melbourne. The 2023 Australian Open finalist suffered a shock defeat in the second round. A quarter-finalist in Abu Dhabi last year, the 2022 Wimbledon champion will be one of the favourites for the title next week.
A similarly enticing match-up could take place at the opposite end of the draw, with second seed Ons Jabeur potentially facing former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the second round. The 21-year-old Briton will first need to get past world No 36 Czech Marie Bouzkova, though.
Raducanu is in the process of her own comeback. Before the start of this season she had not played since last April and required surgery on both wrists and an ankle. Those injuries have contributed significantly to Raducanu’s stunted progress since her historic triumph at the US Open in 2021 when she became the first qualifier in the Open era to win a major title.
Confirmed line-up for Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
Jabeur and Raducanu are yet to meet on the WTA Tour but have played each other at Zayed Sports City when they competed in the 2022 Mubadala World Tennis Championship.
There have been encouraging signs so far, with two wins and two defeats in Auckland and Melbourne, and the experienced Bouzkova – a Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2022 – will provide a stern test as to the state of her game.
Whoever advances to the second round will face a determined Jabeur keen to get her season up and running after an early exit at the Australian Open. The Tunisian world No 6 was handed a heavy second-round loss by teenager Mirra Andreeva in Melbourne, and will hope her experience of playing in Abu Dhabi and the home support will contribute towards a deep run at the tournament.
Also in the top half of the draw along with Osaka and Rybakina are former French Open champions Barbora Krejcikova and Jelena Ostapenko, seeded fourth and fifth respectively. Krejcikova, handed a first-round bye, will face either Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova or a qualifier in the second round, while Ostapenko opens her tournament in the first round against a qualifier.
Rounding off the top half is an all-Chinese match between Xinyu Wang and Lin Zhu, Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina taking on Spain’s Paula Badosa and last year’s finalist Liudmila Samsonova of Russia against Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.
In the bottom half, Russian seventh seed Daria Kasatkina will face a qualifier, France’s Caroline Garcia plays Romanian Sorana Cirstea – with the winner advancing to face Greek third seed Maria Sakkari – and top-ranked Filipino Alexandra Eala will take on Poland’s Magda Linette. Brazil’s sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia will play China’s Xiyu Wang.
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RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
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The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
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Siblings: five brothers and one sister
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Favourite place: UAE
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What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
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Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
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Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
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Company profile
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Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
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