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The past eight editions have helped establish this event. And now it is time
for the annual Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge to climb a step higher and be among
one of the few marquee competitions for some of the top women players on the
Tour. Organisers have been working round the clock to ensure the success of this
annual tournament, conceived, backed and fully supported by Khalaf Al Habtoor,
Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group.
What began as one of the tournaments on the ITF Women’s
Circuit has now come to be one of the mainstays for experienced players seeking
to start early preparations in anticipation of the start of the Australian Open
during the season ahead. This year’s preliminary field says it all – some of the
top players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour have opted to make the trip to Dubai
before embarking on to Australia for the start of the 2008 season.
 “We
are popular and the past few years have been a fair indication of this,” admits
tournament director Farid Al Jayyusi. “Obviously, we must have been doing
something right over the past few years,” he adds. Yes, as owners and organizers
of the first-ever tennis tournament in the Gulf region, the Al Habtoor Group has
been getting things right for themselves and for the players who keep coming
each year.
Besides being an innovative first-ever full-fledged competition for professional
tennis women, the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge has constantly tried to set the
benchmark. Innovative aspects like a true family atmosphere during the
tournament week, the popular kids’ day and the endeavour to bring in the best
players has raised this tournament to its present status.
“This tournament makes a statement about the UAE and about the region. We want
to be heard and this is a fine way of reaching out to some of the best players
in the world, who use this competition as a preparation for the new season,”
states ITF Referee, Hani El Khafief.
Though the tournament offers a mere $75,000 in prize money, players have been
more than eager to land in Dubai and get their preparations under way. Some of
the big names, and others who went on to make a name for them selves on the WTA
Tour, have graced the tennis courts at the impressive Habtoor Grand Resort and
Spa at some point during the past eight years.
“Players have believed in us and in the tournament we organize each year. And
that is possibly one of the reasons why they want to come here,” Al Jayyusi
remarks.
Last year’s tournament was a huge success despite having a sort of anti-climax
during the final between the sixth seeded Katerina Bondarenko and unseeded
Ekaterina Dzehalevich. Bondarenko went on to win easily in the singles final in
straight sets 6-1, 6-3, while she fell painfully short of a rare double here
when she and her sister Valeria went down quite meekly in the doubles against
second seeds Mervana Jugic-Salkic and Jelena Kostanic.
“These are the players that make this event and contribute towards its success
as well. They want to be here and return every year,” El Khafief says.
It is quite an achievement to have all the stars during the competition week
considering that they do not even get hospitality from the organisers. “We are
not surprised with the demand this competition holds among the players on Tour.
They want to come because evidently they are talking about our tournament,” he
notes.
“And one of the things that have helped us immensely is the brand name. People
identify tennis with Al Habtoor, because it was Khalaf Al Habtoor’s vision that
saw this event become a reality,” the tournament director adds. ¬¬¬Preparations
for this year’s tournament are nearly all done. “We have been preparing for this
event much in advance. We are ready for the players to come again this year.
When we last communicated with the ITF we had a list close to 400 players who
have shown an interest in our competition. Things will be clearer in due course
of time,” El Khafief states.
Sponsors play a role
Sponsors have played a very important role in helping the Al Habtoor Tennis
Challenge reach its current spot on the Tour. Banking giant HSBC has been
there from the start along with names such as Diamond Lease, Pepsi and AMC.
“The Al Habtoor brand is crucial. We are known for the standards we set and
the tournament is just one of the areas where we show our expertise and
excel,” Al Jayyusi states.
“We’ve never had any problems with our sponsors. They are our partners or
part of the Al Habtoor family,” he adds. “In fact, at this point we have a
major partner who wants to come in and sponsor the entire tournament for us.
Only time will tell whether we want to allow him to be part of the success
that this tournament turns out to be,” Al Jayyusi states.
Other partners helping the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge reach its present
status are Dunlop, Desert Springs, Johnson Diversey, Tennis Emirates, ITF
Women’s Circuit and the Habtoor Grand Resort & Spa. “Our tournament has
grown each other and it is still growing. We have a bright future along with
the current and aspiring stars on the women’s tour,” he smiles.
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All in a name
Russia’s pin-up girl Maria Kirilenko is just one of the few tennis players
who have contributed to the success of this annual tournament. There have
been many other top names that have made this competition their preferred
choice. Some of them have come once and then deliberately appeared again the
next year.
“Maria Kirilenko has been among the first to confirm her participation this
year,” discloses ITF referee Hani El Khafief, who has been with this
tournament from the very first edition. Tunisian Selima Sfar has always
included Dubai on her schedule each year as did names such as Elena Dokic,
Elena Bovina, Jelena Jankovic, Srebotnik, Camille Pin, Barbara Rittner,
Flavia Pennetta, Marion Bartoli, Iroda Tulyagonova and the Bondarenko twins,
Valeria and Katerina.
“For a moment Richard Krajicek’s sister Michaela had also shown an interest
in participating at the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge this year,” El Khafief
states. This tournament is not just about the famous though. The main aim of
having a competition like this in the region is to foster talent from the
Gulf. “Who knows players such as Oman’s Fatma Al Nabhani may be a household
name in the future. And this is the right platform for such upcoming talent
to get an exposure,” the ITF official states.
The tournament was normally scheduled sometime in the middle of the Tour
calendar. But a couple of years back the organizers grabbed a spot in the
final week of tennis activities worldwide. “Not only do the players want to
sign off their season on a winning note, they want to use this last event of
the calendar year to kick-start preparations for the next,” Al Jayyusi
observes.
“Besides that the weather in Dubai at the end of the year is just so superb.
Anyone would love to be here,” he smiles. And just for the record, no less
than 44 players are now in the top 100 world ranking – three of whom figure
in the top 20 list on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
“The figures say it all,” Al Jayyusi shrugs.
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