Jordanian wild card Abdullah Shelbayh is relishing the “special” opportunity to compete on Arab soil and is keen to represent his country the best way possible on his Dubai debut on Monday.
The 20-year-old Shelbayh has enjoyed a rapid rise up the rankings, vaulting from 470 in the world at the start of 2023 to a career-high 181 last month.
A crafty lefty, who trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Shelbayh is the first Jordanian in history to win a Challenger tournament, an ATP match, and more recently claim a victory at a Grand Slam event.
He made his major debut in Melbourne in January, where he reached the final round of qualifying before falling in three sets to home favourite Omar Jasika.
Shelbayh arrives in Dubai coming off a tight opening round defeat to world No 46 Alexei Popyrin in Doha. He now shifts his focus to his Dubai clash with the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor, which is scheduled last on Court 1 on Monday.
“It’s very special to me to be able to represent my country in the Arab world at such a big event. It’s my first time here so I’m looking forward to being on court already,” Shelbayh told The National on Sunday.
“I’ve been playing great tournaments this year. Maybe not the result I was looking for last week (in Doha) but I think it’s going to be a great match, I’m going to give it my all and see what happens.”
Shelbayh is not the only Arab to be awarded a wild card in Dubai this week. Tunisian Skander Mansouri will be competing in the doubles main draw alongside Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, while his compatriot Aziz Dougaz fought valiantly in the opening round of qualifying before losing to Frenchman Luca van Assche.
“I’m always happy to see a few other guys also from the Arab world playing this tournament. Aziz and Skander are great friends of mine, I was very happy for them,” said Shelbayh.
“It’s important for us to get these wild cards in these tournaments to make that breakthrough. It’s not that easy to have these wild cards and it is very important for our motivation too because these tournaments are very big, internationally, so I think it’s good to have them.”
Mansouri has enjoyed an impressive run of results in doubles in the last few months and has broken into the top 100 for the first time four weeks ago.
The world No 98 has won seven doubles titles on the Challenger tour in the last 12 months, producing strong performances alongside his British partner Luke Johnson.
“It feels great. It’s always a goal of every tennis player to be top 100, so being top 100 in dubs a few weeks ago is very nice,” Mansouri said of reaching that milestone in the doubles rankings.
Mansouri’s success in doubles has come at the expense of his singles. Making it to finals weekend on most weeks has made it difficult for him to reach his next destination in time for his singles qualifying matches but for now, it is a sacrifice Mansouri is willing to make, given how well he’s been performing in doubles.
His goal now is to crack the top 70 with Johnson so they can compete at the Grand Slams.
In Dubai, Mansouri and Qureshi will kick off their campaign against top-seeded duo Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna.
“It's great to be here in Dubai. I’ve always watched this event on TV since I was young and being here is awesome,” said the 28-year-old Mansouri.
He is thrilled to be sharing this experience in the Emirates with other Arab players like Shelbayh and Dougaz, adding: “It is (more special) for sure. We’ve known each other for so long and we’re usually hanging out together at lower tournaments than this one and it’s great being here and seeing each other in the player lounge, practising together and everything in an ATP 500 and hopefully we’ll see more of this in the next couple of years.”
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
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Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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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.
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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