Stage set for 27th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge

DUBAI: The annual Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge will continue with its evolution, while churning out top-level tennis, according to one of the former UAE tennis officials.

Khalid Al Ali, the former General Secretary of the UAE Tennis Association who is now the representative of the Al Habtoor Group, was speaking at the official press conference of the 27th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge that is being held this week at the Habtoor Grand Resort.

The annual competition got under way with the first round of qualifying on Sunday morning. “We have some good young players who have been displaying a superior standard of play coming into this tournament this week. I think this competition has always targeted quality of players, and I think we are into a sort-of transition period,” Ali told media during the official press conference, on Sunday.

“As the organisers, we are well aware that we need to get the ‘big names’ to make this evening attractive to all. But we also know that these young players have a high level of tennis and this is the secret behind the success of our event,” the former UAE Tennis Association general secretary added.

Also present at the official press conference and draws ceremony were ITF Supervisor Sheetal Iyer, Chair Umpire Waleed Samaan, Operations Director and Chief of Officials, Laith Alani, Khalid Saeed, General Manager, Habtoor Grand Resort and first-time entrant in Dubai, Ekaterina Shalimova.

Last year’s two finalists are among the star-studded field lined up for a return this week. Top seed for the singles is Polina Kudermetova followed by Arina Rodionova, 2023 runner-up Arianne Hartono and Alexandra Eala – all four seeds within the top-160 on the latest WTA Rankings.

The Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge began as a $25,000 (AED 91,250) event that was classified as a $75,000 tournament between 1999 to 2015. In 2016, this was upgraded to a $100,000+H competition on the ITF Women’s Circuit.

The brainchild of Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, the annual tournament has also managed to live up to its hype of encouraging the development of women’s tennis in the UAE and the region, while raising the profile of the sport across the Arab world.

Included in the long list of past champions are former Grand Slam winners and top-class players such as Sorana Cirstea (2020), Ana Bogdan (2019), Peng Shuai (2018), Belinda Bencic (2017), Kimiko Date-Krumm (2012), Sania Mirza (2010), Maria Kirilenko (2007), Kateryna Bondarenko (2006), Marion Bartoli (2005), Jelena Jankovic (2003) and inaugural winner Kyra Nagy (1998).

Top seeded Kudermetova will play Swiss girl Leonie Kung, while second seed Rodionova will meet Great Britain’s Amarni Banks in their first round encounters. Last year’s runner-up and No.3 seed Hartono will be up against one of the eight qualifiers and fourth seed Eala will face wild card from Croatia, Petra Marcinko.

Meanwhile, there were a couple of upsets as the qualifying rounds got under way at the new Habtoor Grand tennis courts. Seed No. 7 Jaimee Fourlis went down to Freya Christie of Great Britain 6-3, 6-4, while the No. 10 seed Ilinca Dalina Amariei lost to Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-2.

Sofia Costoulas and Tara Wurth, the top two seeds in the qualifying eased through into the next round, while No. 3 Ankita Raina retired from her match while trailing Russian Ekaterina Shalimova.

Costoulas got past Anna Snigireva 6-4, 6-1, while Croatia’s Wurth was in a mighty hurry with a 6-0, 6-0 Diana Demidova. India’s Raina retired due to an abdominal injury while trailing first-timer Shalimova 5-7, 0-1.

“I want luck to be my best friend since this is my first time in Dubai. The idea is to last as long as I can here this week, and just go out there and play some tennis to ensure I do that,” Shalimova said.

“I had been seriously contemplating Dubai since the past four years, and finally since I am here I want to do the best I can. I love this place. There is so much sunlight and I want to continue being here,” she added.

Play will continue with the opening round matches of the main draw from 10am on Monday. Entry for spectators is free.