The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open returned to the capital today combining world-class tennis and fantastic entertainment, with qualifying wins for the likes of Sofia Kenin, Cristina Bucsa and 17-year-old Wakana Sonobe, while the Main Draw ceremony conjured up some brilliant matches to look forward to, including Ons Jabeur versus Jelena Ostapenko and a clash of Grand Slam champions as Emma Raducanu faces Marketa Vondrousova.
The third edition of the WTA 500 event, once again taking place at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City, began in thrilling fashion, setting the tone for what is to come over the course of the next week, with the competition set to reach its climax on Saturday February 8.
American Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, overcame Japan’s Aoi Ito in an entertaining match early on, edging a tight first set via tie-break before before running out 7-6, 6-2 winner.
In one of the games of the day, Cristina Bucsa fought back from a set down to beat Kamilla Rakhimova 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
Brit Heather Watson, the Wimbledon mixed doubles champion, suffered an early exit at the hands of Katie Volynets, losing 6-4, 6-3, but her compatriot Sonay Kartal produced a superb comeback against Chloe Paquet, overturning a one-set deficit to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Elsewhere, Sonobe, who won the girls’ singles title at the Australian Open one week ago, defeated Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1, while there were also straight-set victories for Veronika Kudermetova and McCartney Kessler.
Meanwhile, Teodora Kostovic and Renata Zarazua progressed via walkovers following the withdrawals through injury of Diane Parry and Ysaline Bonaventure.
Away from the on-court action, the Main Draw Ceremony took place in the new-look Mubadala Tennis Village which, at 15,000 square metres, is double the size of previous years, throwing up some intriguing encounters for fans to look forward to.
Three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur takes on Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2017, along with the US Open doubles title in 2024, while 2021 US Open winner, Raducanu, goes head-to-head with 2023 Wimbledon champion Vondrousova.
Elsewhere in the Main Draw, which begins on Monday, Belinda Bencic, winner of the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, goes up against Rebecca Šramková, Polina Kudermetova faces Liudmila Samsonova and Caroline Garcia, 2022 WTA Finals champion, plays Lulu Sun.
Nigel Gupta, Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open Tournament Director, said: “The opening day of this year’s tournament has been a huge success, with some wonderful matches and fantastic off-court entertainment.
“Attendance figures have been great, and it was brilliant to see so many fans of all ages coming through the gates and enjoying the Mubadala Tennis Village.
“The draw has produced some really exciting matches, and everything is on course for the 2025 edition of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open to be the best yet. We look forward to welcoming many more spectators to Zayed Sports City over the course of the next week.”
This year’s event is supporting the Make A Wish UAE Foundation, which aims to fulfil the wishes, and enrich the lives of, children living with life-threatening conditions.
Three young children will be part of the toin coss ahead of Monday’s matches, while a Charity Silent Auction, in conjunction with the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, ensures spectators can make a donation by scanning a QR code, with all proceeds going directly to Make A Wish UAE.
Tickets for Sunday’s action are completely free of charge for all, and can be purchased via www.mubadalaabudhabiopen.com
