(28 November 2012)
Winners of the Mubadala Community Cup tennis competition have earned the chance to participate in exclusive clinics with the star players competing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, which takes place 27th December – 29th December 2012.
Tickets for the tournament at Zayed Sports City are selling fast for fans seeking a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see their tennis heroes up close in action. Taking the experience one step further, tennis hopefuls have been battling it out at the Mubadala Community Cup to take their place on court alongside the professionals in exclusive coaching clinics held during the 3 day tournament.
The fun-filled weekend of tennis in Abu Dhabi and Dubai saw great competition from participants ranging from under 10s to adults, with 22 tennis fans winning a once in a lifetime opportunity to join the coaching sessions with the likes of world number 1 Novak Djokovic, world number 3 Andy Murray, world number 4 Rafael Nadal, world number 5 David Ferrer, world number 6 Tomas Berdych and world number 9 Janko Tipsarevic.
The Mubadala Community Cup, now in its fifth year, was created to develop a lasting tennis legacy through the Mubadala World Tennis Championship whilst encouraging the UAE’s children to have fun, be healthy, learn new skills, and gain a sense of achievement through competition.
Amina Taher, Head of Community Engagement at Mubadala commented:
“I am delighted that the Mubadala Community Cup has become a well-known addition to the annual community sporting calendar in the UAE. The standard of play continues to improve every year and it’s great to see the spirit and passion that the local community holds for tennis.“
“Mubadala is committed to supporting and empowering young people to lead active and healthy lifestyles and this competition is a great way for youngsters to take their first steps in competitive sport. Many of these children have been taking part in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship community programs for several years now and it’s encouraging to see them progress and test out their talent.”
After a weekend of high-quality tennis in Abu Dhabi, Ghaith Al Ahmed, winner of two consecutive years and runner-up this year in the 12 years and under category was thrilled with his place in the star player clinic.
Commenting on his success, Ghaith Al Ahmed:
“My dad is a tennis coach and he has been encouraging me to play in this tournament for the past three years, it’s my third time and I was a winner in the past 2 years. Being a runner up is not so bad and I am still as excited as I was in my first year to play with the stars.”
Winner of the 14 & under girl’s tournament, Rai Sengupta commented: “Winning the U14 tournament was great! I’m so excited for the star clinic in December and I really hope I get the chance to play with Djokovic as I’m a huge fan. I like his style, he’s young and he’s doing really well at the moment. I played in the Mubadala Community Cup last year but I lost at the round robin stage so I’m really pleased to come back and win this year.”
Winner of the 16 & under boy’s tournament, Noor Nemeh said: “The level of competition this year was really high and many of us got the chance to play several games which helps you gain confidence. Nadal is my favorite player look forward to seeing his performance after his long time off.”