It’s that time of the year again where we hand out some alternative awards to the women who highlighted a stellar season on the WTA tour.
The reflective storyteller award
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
One of my favourite things these past five months has been listening to 30-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova discuss her long route to reaching a first grand slam final.
A tennis prodigy from her teen years who was ranked No 1 in juniors, Pavlyuchenkova was halted in the quarter-final stage of a major on six different occasions, unable to cross that last-eight barrier.
This season though, 16 years after turning pro, and a decade after making her first major quarter-final, Pavlyuchenkova finally broke through by making the final at Roland Garros, and has now risen to a career-high No 11 in the world.
Her brutal honesty when discussing her struggles dealing with her early success, navigating depression, losing motivation during the pandemic and how she battled through it all has been both refreshing and inspiring.
“I'm used to being the youngest one always on tour. Everything was ahead of me,” Pavlyuchenkova said in Madrid last May.
“I was, just, I was there. I was winning matches quite consistently. Okay, maybe I wasn't top 10, but still kind of felt like, ‘Okay, I got this’. Then all of a sudden at some point I just came to the point where I thought, ‘Maybe I don't belong there anymore. Like, maybe it's time to go’.
“At some point I felt a little bit lost. I wasn't sure, am I capable of beating those top-20 players again or top-10 players? Then you just start to doubt yourself. You doubt the work you're doing.”
Luckily she didn’t let the doubts completely take over.
Pavlyuchenkova has been dropping pearls of wisdom all year – in three different languages – and her recent interview with the brilliant Sofya Tartakova is not to be missed.
It’s not always easy to share your narrative with the rest of the world but Pavlyuchenkova has been eloquently doing it all season. There’s a lot we can all learn from her experiences.
Poignant victory speech award
Barbora Krejcikova
Whether she was giving a moving tribute to her late coach Jana Novotna after winning the French Open, or giving us all a history lesson about the Velvet Revolution that ended 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia, Barbora Krejcikova found a way to bring the house down every time she was handed a microphone on court.
“We call this day the Velvet Revolution. On 17 November 1989, we had very brave Czechoslovakia students and citizens; they went outside to the streets and they had been demonstrating against the non-democratic regime we had back then,” Krejcikova told the crowd after being crowned WTA Finals doubles champion alongside her fellow Czech Katerina Siniakova in Guadalajara earlier this month.
“Thanks to them and their sacrifice, today my generation can live in a beautiful country back home. We can live without any restrictions and also with the freedom.”
Czech-American legend Martina Navratilova was in tears on court as she listened to Krejcikova, who continued: “Just for example, so everybody understands what was happening back then, we have here Martina Navratilova who was forced to emigrate from Czechoslovakia because of the regime that was there. I’m really happy that regime is not there anymore and we can live in freedom.”
It’s remarkable to have the poise and composure to find the right words to say in a victory speech when most people would be overwhelmed and overcome by emotion.
When she lifted her maiden singles grand slam title in Paris, Krejcikova said some lovely words about her former coach Novotna, who died of cancer in 2017.
“I was going through a really hard time when Jana was passing away,” Krejcikova told the fans at Court Philippe-Chatrier. “Pretty much her last words were just enjoy and just try to win a grand slam. I know that from somewhere she's looking after me and all of this is pretty much because she's looking after me from up there.”
Poignant runner-up speech award
Leylah Fernandez
If victory speeches are difficult to pull off because of all the emotions, runner-up speeches are possibly even harder since the last thing anyone wants to do after a loss is to stand in front of thousands of people and share their thoughts.
Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez made it look easy though when she spoke to the Arthur Ashe stadium crowd after losing the US Open final to Emma Raducanu on September 11.
“I know on this day it was especially hard for New York and everyone around the United States. I just want to say that I hope I can be as strong and as resilient as New York has been the past 20 years,” said Fernandez.
Post-match hug award
Ons Jabeur
There have been many heartwarming moments on tour this year – Maria Sakkari pulling in a tearful Iga Swiatek for a hug at the net during the WTA Finals being a most recent example.
Post-match handshakes can sometimes get awkward (look for the hashtag ‘#imjusthereforthehandshake’ on Twitter, you won’t regret it) but one player who almost always goes for the hug is the tour’s most sociable star, Ons Jabeur.
The Tunisian shared the sweetest moment with Colombian teen Camila Osorio when she beat her 6-0, 6-1 at the US Open two months ago.
At the net, Jabeur gave the 19-year-old a bear hug along with some encouraging words to console her.
“She is a great human being,” Osorio told Colombian press after the match. “Outside the court she greets me and my family. She knew I wanted to do well, but things didn't work out for me. She told me to relax, that everything was fine. It was very nice.”
Mental health initiatives award
Venus Williams and Iga Swiatek
Mental health has been at the forefront of many discussions in sport this year and it was great to see the legendary Venus Williams collaborate with the WTA and BetterHelp to launch a programme that will provide $2 million of free therapy to the public.
Iga Swiatek also did her part this season by announcing a $50,000 donation to two Polish foundations working in the field of mental health.
The 20-year-old Swiatek made the decision on World Mental Health Day and chose those two foundations based on suggestions from her followers online.
“The foundations will use this money to hire new psychotherapists to work with children and teenagers who struggle with depression, anxiety, violence and suicidal thoughts,” explained Swiatek. “Never in those foundations' history has the demand for therapy been so high as it is now, mainly because of the pandemic.”
Shiny spirit award
Camila Osorio
It is incredibly hard to catch Osorio without a smile on her face. The bubbly Colombian enjoyed a breakthrough 2021, where she picked up a maiden WTA title – on home soil no less – and rose from 186 at the start of the year to a career-high 53 in the world rankings.
There were many hilarious moments with Osorio – or Cami as she is commonly known as – this season, but perhaps my favourite was when I asked her about how she’s adapting her game to grass during her Wimbledon qualifying campaign.
“I don’t even know what I’m doing, I’m just playing,” she said bursting into laughter. The self-deprecating Osorio didn’t just qualify for Wimbledon; she ended up making the third round in the main draw.
Comedy gold award
Daria Gavrilova
Daria Gavrilova has had a difficult year. She was unable to compete between February and November as she underwent Haglund’s deformity surgery and dealt with Achilles tendon enthesopathy.
The Moscow-born Aussie was stuck in Melbourne for months on end, rehabbing mostly by herself, surviving a strict statewide lockdown and unable to see her fiancé Luke Saville, who was travelling the tour and competing.
During such tough times, Gavrilova provided an endless stream of comedic content on TikTok and her other social media channels, ranging from short skits where she mockingly embodied various player stereotypes, to videos of her equally famous dog, Tofu, to clips of her dancing alone in the gym.
The humour and creativity in her videos is unrivalled, and it was nice to see someone make the best out of a bad situation while she was sidelined from competition.
Making a difference award
Sloane Stephens
The more you read up on the work Sloane Stephens does through her foundation to help young kids through “providing educational opportunities and encouraging healthy lifestyles”, the more your admiration grows for her.
From her Love, Love Compton programme, to the Doc & Glo scholarship she created in honour of her late grandparents, to her role on the WTA Player Council, Stephens is someone who likes to get involved and be proactive about affecting change.
Stephens, who joined the Council in 2019, was recently re-elected for a second term.
“I think it’s been an interesting process,” the former US Open champion told reporters at the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this month.
“We’ve made a lot of good strides on behalf of the players. When you get into it, you kind of have unfinished business; we’ve started a lot of good projects and a lot of good things for our girls and the tour and we haven’t fully finished what we needed to finish.
“I came in with Madison [Keys] and we had some goals to really accomplish and I think we’re still in the process of that, so I don’t want to get off until we’ve really made some good strides. That’s why I do it.”
Stephens recently started a blog called ‘Sloane Stephens Off-Court’, where she shares some of her unfiltered feelings and views from her day-to-day life.
“I want to do my part to encourage women to embrace life to its fullest by connecting with one another, caring for all aspects of their well-being, discovering and utilising resources that meet needs/address gaps, and prioritising joy through self-discovery, dream chasing, and living,” writes Stephens.
“By sharing some of myself and my interests, I hope to help build a community where people can learn more about experiencing overall wellness and joy. Because I truly envision a world where Black women and other women of colour are healthy, thriving and free with equitable access to the tools and resources they need to live their happiest and most fulfilling lives.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
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The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
