As thousands of athletes gathered inside Stade de France on Sunday to celebrate the conclusion of the Paris Games, the world's leading tennis players had already moved on from the Olympic festivities to focus on their day jobs.
Tennis, held at the historic Roland Garros, was one of Paris 2024's earlier events, with matches starting on July 26 and the last of the finals taking place on August 4 – a full week before the end of the Games.
Yet, while most Olympians are taking some deserved rest and will use the opportunity to celebrate their achievements, the unrelenting professional tennis tours have given their athletes no such respite.
Even when Olympic tennis was in full swing, the WTA Tour hosted a tournament in Washington DC involving several leading players who skipped the Games out of choice or were not selected by their national teams, including world No 3 Aryna Sabalenka and former US Open champions Emma Raducanu and Sloane Stephens.
For most, particularly those who competed in Paris, it was straight into the deep end on their return last week as the ATP and WTA tours hosted Masters 1000 tournaments – outside the Grand Slams, the biggest events in terms of ranking points and prize money – in Montreal and Toronto respectively.
And there's more big-time tennis this week, too, as both the men and women compete at the Cincinnati Masters. One week later, on August 26, the US Open starts. The tennis calendar really is living up to its reputation as the most gruelling circuit in elite sport.
In Montreal last week, most of the ATP's top players were in action but there were two notable exceptions. Following their latest titanic tussle in the Olympic final, gold medal winner Novak Djokovic and runner-up Carlos Alcaraz opted to not travel to Canada.
Djokovic, 37, will be absent again this week as the Serbian world No 2, whose triumph in Paris completed the career golden Grand Slam, has been nursing a knee injury having undergone surgery on a meniscus tear after the French Open in June.
It's hardly ideal preparation for his US Open title defence, but even more so this year with the transition from the Olympic clay courts to the North American hard courts, not to mention the travel and time difference. If there is one player with the experience and skill to quickly adapt, though, it's 24-time major champion Djokovic.
Alcaraz, 21, will return to the ATP Tour this week and will aim to go one step further than last year's final, which he lost to Djokovic 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 in another of their thrilling, nail-biting battles.
The Spanish world No 2 is enjoying another spectacular season, winning the French Open and retaining his Wimbledon title – in a rare one-sided match against Djokovic – to take his Grand Slam tally to four.
Cincinnati is one of the few occasions when the ATP and WTA tours compete at the same tournament at the same time, but there will be no Ons Jabeur in Ohio this year as her worrying injury record extends into another week.
Jabeur, 29, has been troubled by a recurring knee injury for much of the season, which forced her into the decision to miss the Olympics due to the stress the clay courts place on her body.
However, now it's a shoulder problem hampering the Tunisian's fitness, leading to withdrawals in Washington and now Cincinnati, either side of a heavy first-round defeat to Naomi Osaka in Toronto.
“I regret to inform you that, due to an aggravated shoulder injury, I will be unable to participate at the Cincinnati Open this year," Jabeur posted on social media. “Despite my best efforts to recover in time, playing in Toronto did not help, my current condition does not allow me to compete at the level required.”
The former world No 2 will now be focused on sufficiently recovering in time for the US Open.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth
UFC%20FIGHT%20NIGHT%3A%20SAUDI%20ARABIA%20RESULTS
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The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
Results
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
