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.
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
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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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
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HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
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Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m; Winner: Mcmanaman, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
6.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Bawaasil, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Bochart, Fabrice Veron, Satish Seemar
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Mutaraffa, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
7.50pm: Longines Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,00 (D) 1,900m; Winner: Rare Ninja, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.25pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Alfareeq, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
9pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
9.35pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Zorion, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi
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Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
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Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
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