ABU DHABI // Few spectators in an appreciative crowd of nearly 5,000 would question Abu Dhabi's worthiness to become the next hot venue for world-class tennis after watching a highly impressive launch to the Capitala World Championship.
The exhibition tournament, having forced its way on to the calendar at the start of the new year, is here to stay, an observation observed by the event organisers IMG who are promising to keep it on the annual fixture list.
Greg Sproule, an IMG spokesman, enthused: "This is a great day for Abu Dhabi. This is part of Abu Dhabi's emergence on to the tennis scene. My understanding is that this is going to be a host venue for top-class world tennis for years to come. When we conduct special events like this we try to schedule them so that it is favourable to players in the same way as the Abu Dhabi golf championship kicks of the season for golfers.
"This is a good weather window at the beginning of the year. From a sporting perspective, to have such a high-profile event on Jan 1 is fantastic."
Sproule disclosed that Tennis Emirates, the sport's governing body in the UAE, has been very much engaged in this whole process.
"One of the things we have done in the planning of this was to reach out to them and work with them as much as possible," he said. "We appreciate that we can always do better in dealing with the authorities and we are open to discussions with them on how we can do so."
The organisers are delighted with the response to the launch of the US$250,000 (Dh918,262) tournament which has stretched the 5,000 capacity of the splendid stadium in the capital.
"If we had a stadium for 7,000 we would be happier because the demand for tickets has been overwhelming, which is a credit to everybody who has helped with the build-up to this," added Sproule.
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
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Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
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