Wimbledon is fast approaching and there are plenty of burning questions that will be answered when the draw is conducted on Friday morning at the All England Club.
Will a sixth-seeded Novak Djokovic avoid landing in Carlos Alcaraz’s or Jannik Sinner’s quarters of the draw? Will the tennis gods be kind to an eighth-seeded Iga Swiatek as she attempts to find her game on grass? Will two-time champion Petra Kvitova get the farewell she deserves on her farewell appearance at SW19?
The Czech lefty came back from a 17-month maternity leave in February and recently announced she will be retiring from tennis after the US Open.
Ranked 573 in the world and playing Wimbledon as a wildcard, Kvitova is a name no one will want to draw in the first round, irrespective of her 1-6 record this season.
In anticipation of the draw, here are other unseeded threats that could cause some serious damage and an upset or two at the Championships this upcoming fortnight.
Marketa Vondrousova
As one Czech lefty gets ready to bid farewell to her happiest hunting ground, another one is finding her form at just the right time.
The 2023 Wimbledon champion won her first title in two years last week in Berlin by navigating a brutal draw that saw her defeat Australian Open winner Madison Keys, world No 12 Diana Shnaider, two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur, and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka before overcoming Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu in the final.
Vondrousova has spent half of the past 18 months sidelined with injuries and has also had shoulder surgery. She entered Berlin ranked 164 in the world. The 500 points she racked up there have sent her flying 91 spots up the charts, but that’s still not high enough to snag her a seeded position at Wimbledon – much to the dismay of the 32 seeds who could end up drawing Vondrousova in the opening round.
Her plans between Berlin and Wimbledon?
“I’ll just try to enjoy a few days off now and back to hard work. Stay grounded, stay in your lane, focus on tennis and play these matches as if nothing happened,” she told wtatennis.com.
Tatjana Maria
Another fairytale that unfolded this grass-court season came courtesy of Tatjana Maria, a 37-year-old mother of two, who reminded us all just how lethal she can be on this surface.
A Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2022, Maria claimed the fourth tour-level title of her career, and second on grass, by blasting her way through the main draw at Queen's Club, where women’s tennis returned this year for the first time since 1973.
After beating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in her opener, Maria knocked out four top-15 players, including Grand Slam champions Keys and Elena Rybakina.
No one will want to see the German’s name next to theirs when the draw is revealed on Friday.
Emma Raducanu
Before she stunned the world by winning the US Open as a qualifier back in 2021, Emma Raducanu’s first tour-level breakthrough came at Wimbledon two months earlier.
Ranked 338 at the time, the then 18-year-old claimed three main-draw wins to become the youngest British woman in the Open Era to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon.
Raducanu has made the fourth round at the Championships twice in three appearances, and her warm-up for this year’s edition included a quarter-final run at Queen's earlier this month.
The 22-year-old is up to 38 in the world rankings, making her one of the highest-ranked non-seeds in the draw.
With the home crowd behind her and her confidence rising, Raducanu will be a tricky first-round opponent.
Marin Cilic
This time last year, Marin Cilic was ranked outside the top 1,000 and in the midst of a six-month injury layoff that included surgery on his right knee.
The 2014 US Open champion returned to action in late August and was crowned champion in just his third tournament back, clinching the ATP 250 event in Hangzhou, China last September.
Cilic, a former world No 3, arrives at this year’s Wimbledon ranked 85 in the world and is coming off a grass-court title run at the Challenger Tour event in Nottingham.
The 36-year-old Croatian has historically been one of the tour’s best grass-court players. He won three tour-level titles on the surface – twice at Queen’s and once in Stuttgart – and reached the final at Wimbledon in 2017, where he suffered from a painful foot blister during a straight-sets defeat to Roger Federer.
He has a 80-32 win-loss record at tour-level on grass; his 71.4% success rate on the surface is the fourth-best among active ATP players.
Injuries have kept Cilic away from the All England Club since 2021, and he will no doubt want to make the most of his return to SW19.
Cilic’s final warm-up for Wimbledon will be the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic exhibition event at London’s Hurlingham Club alongside the likes of Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti.
Roberto Bautista Agut
The Spaniard has made it into the second week of Wimbledon in five of his 10 Wimbledon appearances, amassing an impressive 71% win percentage at the All England Club.
His reached the semi-finals in 2019, his best performance at a Grand Slam to date, losing to Djokovic in four sets.
At 37, the former world No 9 is still a tough nut to crack on grass – his semi-final run at Queen's is testament to that – securing wins over world No 9 Holger Rune and No 17 Jakub Mensik before falling to eventual champion Alcaraz.
He’s back up to 43 in the rankings and will be high on confidence when Wimbledon kicks off on Monday.
Gabriel Diallo
Canada’s big-serving Gabriel Diallo is enjoying a breakthrough 2025, highlighted by a maiden ATP title on the lawns of ‘s-Hertogenbosch earlier this month.
Diallo was competing for the first time at tour-level on grass that week but was unfazed by the challenge as he utilised his powerful game to full effect on the surface to lift his first ATP trophy.
A march to the quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid in May – as a lucky loser – showed how dangerous Diallo can be in fast conditions.
The 23-year-old is among the top 20 on the tour’s aces leaderboard for this season and has more than halved his ranking this campaign, reaching a current career-high of 41.
He’ll be making his first Wimbledon main draw appearance next week and is a potential banana skin for many top players.
DUBAI SEVENS 2018 DRAW
Gulf Men’s League
Pool A – Dubai Exiles, Dubai Hurricanes, Bahrain, Dubai Sports City Eagles
Pool B – Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Saracens, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Al Ain Amblers
Gulf Men’s Open
Pool A – Bahrain Firbolgs, Arabian Knights, Yalla Rugby, Muscat
Pool B – Amman Citadel, APB Dubai Sharks, Jebel Ali Dragons 2, Saudi Rugby
Pool C – Abu Dhabi Harlequins 2, Roberts Construction, Dubai Exiles 2
Pool D – Dubai Tigers, UAE Shaheen, Sharjah Wanderers, Amman Citadel 2
Gulf U19 Boys
Pool A – Deira International School, Dubai Hurricanes, British School Al Khubairat, Jumeirah English Speaking School B
Pool B – Dubai English Speaking College 2, Jumeirah College, Dubai College A, Abu Dhabi Harlequins 2
Pool C – Bahrain Colts, Al Yasmina School, DESC, DC B
Pool D – Al Ain Amblers, Repton Royals, Dubai Exiles, Gems World Academy Dubai
Pool E – JESS A, Abu Dhabi Sharks, Abu Dhabi Harlequins 1, EC
Gulf Women
Pool A – Kuwait Scorpions, Black Ruggers, Dubai Sports City Eagles, Dubai Hurricanes 2
Pool B – Emirates Firebirds, Sharjah Wanderers, RAK Rides, Beirut Aconites
Pool C – Dubai Hurricanes, Emirates Firebirds 2, Abu Dhabi Saracens, Transforma Panthers
Pool D – AUC Wolves, Dubai Hawks, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Al Ain Amblers
Gulf U19 Girls
Pool A – Dubai Exiles, BSAK, DESC, Al Maha
Pool B – Arabian Knights, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Ain Amblers, Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.
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.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Indoor Cricket World Cup
Venue Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE squad Saqib Nazir (captain), Aaqib Malik, Fahad Al Hashmi, Isuru Umesh, Nadir Hussain, Sachin Talwar, Nashwan Nasir, Prashath Kumara, Ramveer Rai, Sameer Nayyak, Umar Shah, Vikrant Shetty
HWJN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Yasir%20Alyasiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Baraa%20Alem%2C%20Nour%20Alkhadra%2C%20Alanoud%20Saud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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
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.
