The WTA seems quite proud that for the first time since the organisation began ranking players, in 1975, 10 countries are represented in the women's top 10.
Denmark, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Australia, the United States, China, Serbia, Belarus and Poland each have a player in the elite group. But only one.
Four continents are represented by Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva, Francesca Schiavone, Samantha Stosur, Venus Williams, Li Na, Jelena Jankovic, Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska.
The list "shows how truly global tennis has become", Stacey Allaster, the WTA's chief executive, said.
She did not mention the men, but the ATP is not far behind in spreading the wealth. At present, eight nations are represented in the top 10, with only Spain (Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco) having more than one player.
What does this say about tennis as a world game?
It is indisputable that the game has put down roots far outside its Anglo-French origins. Iberians, Eastern Europeans, Russians and South Americans have been prominent in world lists for decades, and Li represents the leading edge of what looks like a surge of competitive Chinese female players.
What has changed is the number of countries with competitive players. To wit: 30 countries are represented in the world's top 60 women's players; on the men's side it is 25 nations from the first 56 players.
However, what has not really changed is the game's lack of competitive players from wide swathes of the globe. African and Asian players remain rare in the upper end of the world rankings.
Li is the only Asian in the women's top 38. Only one African (South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers, No 80) is among the women's first 200.
The situation on the men's side is more dire; the highest-ranked Asian male is Kei Nishikori of Japan at No 72; the only African in the top 100 is Kevin Anderson of South Africa; the only Arab in the first 200 is Reda el Amrani of Morocco at No 196.
The tennis push toward becoming a sort of United Nations of sport also is not helped by India's slide in producing top players. The world's second-most populous nation, once a middling tennis country, is represented on the women's side by Sania Mirza at No 134 and on the men's by Somdev Devvarman at No 80.
Ultimately, what seems self-evident is that "country of origin" plays only a small part in how fans evaluate the attractiveness of a tournament or match-up in a personality-driven sport.
A 10-nation WTA top 10 is an interesting novelty.
But tournament organisers presumably would rather have, say, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in their fields at the expense of most of those top-10 place-holders.
poberjuerge@thenational.ae
Men's tour this week
Tommy Robredo of Spain picked up his 10th tournament title by beating the Colombian Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 in the Movistar Open in Santiago. Also, Kevin Anderson, the South African, defeated Sondev Devverman of India 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to win the SA Open in Johannesburg. In Croatia, Ivan Dodig also won his home-country event, defeating Michael Berrer of Germany 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Zagreb Indoors.
ATP rankings
1. R Nadal ESP 12,390
2. R Federer SUI 7,965
3. N Djokovic SRB 7,880
4. R Soderling SWE 5,995
5. A Murray GBR 5,760
WTA rankings (no tournament last week)
1. C Wozniacki DEN 8,655
2. K Clijsters BEL 8,515
3. V Zvonareva RUS 7,405
4. F Schiavone ITA 5,055
5. S Stosur AUS 4,862
Tournaments
Rotterdam Open
Place: Rotterdam, Holland
Duration: Until Sunday
Prize money: US$1.55 million (Dh5.7m)
Surface: Indoor hard
Reigning champion:Robin Soderling
SAP Open
Place: San Jose, California
Duration: Until Sunday
Prize money: $531,000
Surface: Indoor hard
Reigning champion:Fernando Verdasco
Paris Gaz de France Open
Place: Paris
Duration: Until Sunday
Prize money: $618,000
Surface: Indoor hard
Reigning champion:Elena Dementieva
Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
At a glance
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
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
MATCH INFO
Rajasthan Royals 158-8 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 143/7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals won by 15 runs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
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
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
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