Anyone For Tennis?

The first tentative steps towards attracting the world's top women tennis players to the Middle East are being taken in Dubai in April.

The first Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge will attract female professional players from across the world and is the latest sporting event to boost Dubai's growing reputation as one of the leading sporting cities in the world.

The idea of the tournament's concept is simple... start small and get bigger before you can attract the best. The total budget for this year's event is US$100,000, sufficient enough to attract players who are hovering just below the 100 mark in the world rankings.

But organisers are quietly confident that it will blossom each year to reach the eventual goal of becoming a premier event on the ladies' tennis circuit and attract the likes of Martina Hingis and Monica Seles.

"There is no reason why this tournament can't grow into a big event," said tournament director Samer Ghazi, who is also Recreation Manager of the Metropolitan Resort and Beach Club where the matches will be played.

"We have players coming from Germany, Britain, Austria, Indonesia, Russia and Ukraine as well as some African countries, so this year's tournament has certainly received a good response.

"The players you will see here are just outside of the top rankings so there will be plenty of emerging stars."

The tournament is being held under the supervision of Tennis Emirates and is an official International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women's Circuit event.

The winner of the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge picks up 22 ranking points while the runner-up receives 15. Semi-finalists get 10 each while the losing quarter-finalists receive three points.

"We are extremely pleased with the response from the ITF and the encouragement they have given us in organising this competition," said Ghazi.

"We are keen to make this an annual event and make it bigger each year but we want to see what this one is like first.

"You can't just start with something big, you have to start small and develop it. In four to five years we plan to have the top stars competing."

The burning issue of staging a major women's tennis event on the scale of the highly successful men's Dubai Tennis Open has been smouldering for several years now, but the Al Habtoor Group has grabbed the bull by the horns by getting the ball rolling.

"People have been talking about staging a top women's tennis tournament in Dubai for years but we have done it in two months," said Ghazi. "We have taken the risk and judging by the response it is paying off."

The man responsible for intiating this event is Khalaf Al Habtoor, chairman of the Al Habtoor Group. A keen tennis player, he can be seen practising at the Beach Club courts almost every day.

"Mr Habtoor gets a lot of enjoyment from tennis. He decided he wanted to put something back into the game," said Ghazi. "He wanted to hold a Gulf professional tournament but we thought with the generous budget he made available we could spread the net wider and make it an international event."

It is certainly going to be one of big attractions during this month's Dubai Shopping Festival and Ghazi hopes the timing will give it extra exposure. "There are more visitors to Dubai at this time of year and we hope these visitors will hear about the tournament and go back home and tell other people.

"That is how we want the tournament to grow with the players too. If they enjoy their time in Dubai they will tell fellow players who might want to come next year to compete." A total of 32 players will be vying for a slice of the sizeable prize money on offer, with four of those coming through the qualifying rounds. There are also two wild card entrants to be invited by organisers.

The qualifying rounds start on 4 April while the first serve of the main tournament will be delivered on 6 April, culminating in the grand final on 12 April.

But Al Habtoor Challenge is not just about professional tennis and producing a champion, it is about the development of the sport in the United Arab Emirates and particularly among the locals.

Alongside the main event is a singles tournament for UAE Nationals which Ghazi hopes will attract a good field of players.

"Tournaments like this will motivate people to pick up a tennis racket and start playing the game," he said. "We need more locals involved with tennis and we hope the Challenge will help accomplish this."

It seems that anyone who wants to enter will be accomodated by tournaments at Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge. There are amateur men's and women's singles and doubles events as well as mixed doubles and doubles tournaments for Under 14 and Under 18 age groups.

"It is much more than just a tennis tournament, it is a tennis festival which we want everyone to enjoy," said Ghazi.

A women's tournament on the scale of the men's Dubai Tennis Open would certainly be a formidable addition to Dubai's growing reputation.

Last month's Dubai Tennis Open - the sixth that has been held - has been hailed as the best ever with record crowds flocking to the courts at the Aviation Club, Deira.

Fans' spirits failed to be dampened by some unfriendly weather and the early exits of big names like Tim Henman and Boris Becker as they packed the centre court for the16 February final.

In the end, the baseline brilliance of Spaniard Alex Corretja proved too much for compatriate Felix Mantilla who eventually fell by the wayside at centre court. Corretja was £160,000 better off thanks to his 7-6 6-1 victory which took just over two hours.

Correjta then shared the secret as to why he seemed more determined than most to win the top prize as well as the beautiful silver dhow trophy.

"The facilities are really nice in Dubai and I felt like I was at home," he said. "I didn't want to leave until after the final and I'm going to try to speak Arabic for next year." The men's doubles result was a popular one for the large Indian expatriate community in Dubai as their heroes Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi brushed aside the American pair of Donald Johnson and Francisco Montana 6-2, 7-5.

The success of the Dubai Tennis Open is clear, but while it has been left to the men to entertain tennis fans in Dubai for the past six years, it is likely the women will be serving some aces i the near future.