Tunisian star Ons Jabeur is hoping that 2025 offers a fresh start as she looks to put her injury troubles behind her – starting with the Australian Open next week.
Jabeur, 30, suffered serious knee and shoulder injuries last August, forcing her to bring a premature end to her season, missing the US Open and the Asian swing. She dropped to No 42 in the world rankings.
Jabeur started 2025 on a much more positive note, reaching the last eight of the Brisbane International. She next competes in Adelaide before moving on to the Australian Open, which starts on January 12.
“I’m playing without pain. I am feeling much better and just taking it one step at a time. Some things take time but I am very positive about the future,” Jabeur told The National in an interview over Zoom.
“I'm very happy with the preparation that I did, and looking forward to have more matches to play and to be ready for the next tournament.
“It's definitely good preparation to play Brisbane and Adelaide, where I am right now. And I feel like it's going to be a very good preparation for the Australian Open and for the next tournaments.”
If all goes according to plan, Jabeur is confident her time in Australia will see her arrive in fighting shape to contest the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open at Zayed Sports City in February.
“It always feels amazing to play in front of the beautiful crowd in Abu Dhabi,” the three-time Grand Slam finalist said. “I always feel supported there. It definitely feels like home. I feel like this year is going to be probably better than the other years. I'm really looking forward to playing this tournament again. I invite everyone to come and watch me.
“They are such a great crowd and the fact they encourage me and they support me. It's always an honour for me. I definitely feel love there in Abu Dhabi and the crowd always gives a plus for sure.”
Before that, Jabeur will be hoping to go as far as possible at the first major of the year and move up the WTA Tour rankings in Australia.
“I’m going to go step by step. I played a couple of matches in Brisbane, looking forward to playing more matches here in Adelaide, and hopefully I can get back, you know, the rhythm of playing matches and the confidence of playing matches. I feel like it's going to be a good tournament,” she added.
For now, Jabeur is focused on the Australian Open and the Middle East swing that includes Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha, followed by the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments in the US.
“And then the clay season will start and that's another preparation for the season, but definitely one step at a time, one match at a time, and hope I can be ready,” she added.
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Jabeur said her recent injuries mean she might have to plan her season differently.
“I think this year, what I might do differently is listen to my body more. If I need to rest, definitely I will take a few days rest or skip tournaments. If not, I just go for it, play and enjoy every moment on the court,” she explained.
“Every tournament is important obviously, you know, points wise. The Grand Slams are always amazing. I love playing at Wimbledon, I also love playing the big tournaments in the Middle East.
“They're very important to me personally and, yeah, I'll try to do my best and do good in most of the tournaments.
“Mubadala is a pretty important one for me. Obviously, Doha and Dubai as well, they are really big tournaments. So, I feel like the more I play matches in the Middle East, the better I get the confidence back.”
Jabeur believes she still has plenty of tennis left in her and is happy to face the challenge of a top-quality field that includes the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff.
“There are a lot of good ones out in the circuit. Aryna and Iga are on a good path and they play unbelievable tennis. I see Coco also playing good as well. There are different players that I feel raise the level between us,” Jabeur said.
“We are looking forward also to discover the younger generation like Mirra [Andreeva]. She plays really well.
“I have my chances to win against them. I know I have the level; I know I have the game to bother them. It's going to be a great time to see how it's going to play out.
“But definitely getting ready to be stronger and I know my game could really bother them.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
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MATCH INFO
Rajasthan Royals 158-8 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 143/7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals won by 15 runs
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
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Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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Manchester City 6
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Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
China and the UAE agree comprehensive strategic partnership
China and the UAE forged even closer links between the two countries during the landmark state visit after finalising a ten-point agreement on a range of issues, from international affairs to the economy and trade and renewable energy.
1. Politics: The two countries agreed to support each other on issues of security and to work together on regional and international challenges. The nations also confirmed that the number of high-level state visits between China and the UAE will increase.
2. Economy: The UAE offers its full support to China's Belt and Road Initiative, which will combine a land 'economic belt" and a "maritime silk road" that will link China with the Arabian Gulf as well as Southeast, South and Central China, North Africa and, eventually, Europe.
3. Business and innovation: The two nations are committed to exploring new partnerships in sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, energy, the aviation and transport industries and have vowed to build economic co-operation through the UAE-China Business Committee.
4. Education, science and technology: The Partnership Programme between Arab countries in Science and Technology will encourage young Emirati scientists to conduct research in China, while the nations will work together on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, renewable energy and space projects.
5. Renewable energy and water: The two countries will partner to develop renewable energy schemes and work to reduce climate change. The nations have also reiterated their support for the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency.
6. Oil and gas: The UAE and China will work in partnership in the crude oil trade and the exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources.
7. Military and law enforcement and security fields: Joint training will take place between the Chinese and UAE armed forces, while the two nations will step up efforts to combat terrorism and organised crime.
8. Culture and humanitarian issues: Joint cultural projects will be developed and partnerships will be cultivated on the preservation of heritage, contemporary art and tourism.
9. Movement between countries: China and the UAE made clear their intent to encourage travel between the countries through a wide-ranging visa waiver agreement.
10. Implementing the strategic partnership: The Intergovernmental Co-operation Committee, established last year, will be used to ensure the objectives of the partnership are implemented.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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.”
