- Mixed day for the Brits as Sonay Kartal progresses but Heather Watson is beaten
- Main Draw Ceremony pits Ons Jabeur against Jelena Ostapenko while Emma Raducanu meets Marketa Vondrousova
- Tickets to attend on Sunday are free of charge for all ages
ABU DHABI, UAE – 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
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About Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open
The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open is a WTA 500 tournament, produced by IMG in partnership with Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. The third edition of the tournament has been confirmed for 2025 and will take place at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
About WTA
Founded by Billie Jean King in 1973 on the principle of equal opportunity, the WTA is the global leader in women’s professional sports. The WTA is one of the world’s most recognizable and high-profile sports organizations, consisting of more than 1600 players representing over 80 nations, all competing to earn WTA rankings points and prestigious tournament titles. The Hologic WTA Tour is comprised of over 70 events and four Grand Slams, spanning 30 countries and regions across six continents with a global audience of more than 1 billion. Further information on the WTA can be found at wtatennis.com.
About Mubadala Investment Company
Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi.
Mubadala’s $284 billion (AED 1045 billion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. We leverage our deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates.
For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com
About Abu Dhabi Sports Council
Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) was established in 2006 by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, The president of United Arab Emirates. ADSC is aligned to the emirate’s leadership vision to develop sport and youth activities. The Council promotes an effective, emirate-wide sports calendar that stimulates the desire to participate in quality sports among all Abu Dhabi residents and helps the talented and motivated reach their sporting potential.
ADSC believes that global and community sporting events provide many positive opportunities, most notably the encouragement of all segments and groups of society to practice sports activities.
Vision
Abu Dhabi: an international capital for sport practicing, competitiveness, & international events.
Mission
To establish an environment that contributes towards promoting the importance of sport practicing and sport programs for all segments of the community, and to implement the best and latest international systems that promote competing at local, regional, and international levels.
A global destination for sport
Abu Dhabi Sports Council supports the organisation and hosting of many international sporting events in Abu Dhabi.
About IMG
IMG is a global sports, events and representation company. It is a leader in rights management, multi-channel content production and distribution, consultancy and fan engagement; owns, produces and commercially represents hundreds of live events and experiences; and manages licensing programs for the world’s best-known brands and trademarks. IMG is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.
