An additional Kids’ Day was added to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday, with rising WTA stars Kristina Mladenovic and Zarina Diyas sparing a day to spend time on court with 500 children from nine UAE schools.
“What fun this morning was, with all these enthusiastic kids. You definitely have a few budding tennis stars here in Dubai,” said Diyas, who was joined by the tournament mascot Ace.
Teacher Craig Wheeldon from Gems World Academy said: “This was a day full of fun with some of our kids winning prizes and other participating on court, they all loved it. The kids have learned a great deal about the basics of tennis.”
Student Sofia Penulalar, aged 12 from Winchester School, “I enjoyed being a part of the show, it feels so nice to be so close to the players and see them up close. They were lovely.”
Action in the WTA tournament continues until February 21 and features defending champion Venus Williams, Wimbledon champion and 2013 Dubai winner Petra Kvitova, French Open and WTA Finals runner-up Simona Halep, former Dubai winners Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki, Brisbane runner-up Ana Ivanovic, Australian Open semi-finalist Ekaterina Makarova and recent Sydney semi-finalist Angelique Kerber.
Play then continues between February 23 to 28 with the ATP tournament, which stars world number one and Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, defending Dubai champion Roger Federer, Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray and two-time Dubai finalist Tomas Berdych.
Tickets for the event are available from the box office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, which opens from 9am to 9pm daily. For more information about tickets, prices and the tournament, go to dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com.
