Dubai: Now in its 17th year, the annual Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge had ushered in a new era for tennis in the region in it’s own way. When Khalaf Al Habtoor announced the $25,000 (Dh92,000) ITF Women’s Circuit event – later elevated as a $75,000 tournament – it created a ripple.
No one in the Gulf region had till then thought about organising a tennis tournament, exclusively for young women trying to make it big on the circuit. And now, 18 years later – the competition could not be held once due to refurbishment of the venue – Al Habtoor, Chairman, Habtoor Group and sponsor of Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, can happily look at a competition that has over the years attracted some of the best players in women’s tennis. From Jelena Jankovic to Marion Bartoli, several big names have all played here at some point of their careers. And this has given the patron of the Habtoor family the right impetus of continuing with the competition. However, he feels that some others – prominently Tennis Emirates, the governing body of tennis in the UAE – should be doing more to raise the profile of tennis in the UAE.
GULF NEWS: 17 years is a long time for one tournament. Can you take us on this journey and how this tournament came into being?
KHALAF AL HABTOOR: I was playing tennis one day with a group of friends and during a break it suddenly occurred to me that we could do something for women’s tennis in the region. So I just spoke to one of these friends and he promised to take it up with the ITF. The next day he got in touch with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the rest, as they say, is history now.
How were those early days of the tournament?
It’s a bit hard to compare those times and now. But, I think that when we started, this tournament had so much of a warm feel about it. This was not just among the players and the staff, but among the families of the players who chose to come to Dubai along with them. In those days, the players were better. They had a certain charm that most modern-day players sadly do not possess.
Now when I see the players, I feel so sorry for them. They are so business-like about their tennis. They don’t seem to be enjoying what they are doing. They create their own world and live so seggregated in it. First the players used to come with their family. Now they come with their coach, trainer or whatever. However, technically they are better players today. This may be due to the improvement in coaching standards, etc. It has been a long journey and our tournament is growing.
Why was it important to have this tournament?
Though we had some of the best men’s tennis in this region, we did not have a single competition for women. So I decided to allow our young upcoming women to come and have an opportunity of taking the next step upwards. We wanted to encourage our girls from the Gulf to come and play, but unfortunately, be it the GCC or the Arab world or even this part of Asia, very few girls have been able to come and play here. The only people playing here are the Europeans and the Americans. They all show so much determination, unlike our players who give up easily. They never like to put up a fight on court. And till today I been unable to understand this part.
How has this tournament contributed to raising the level of the sport in this region?
Don’t forget that this tournament is the oldest competition for women anywhere in the Gulf. We came much before any of the other womens’ tournaments. We are the people who took the first step to introduce women’s tennis in the Gulf.
Unfortunately, there is not much encouragement from people concerned starting with our tennis association [Tennis Emirates]. The quality of people in the association is good but they don’t have a budget, they don’t have money or even training facilities to back me up on what I am doing for women’s sport here. This tournament does not come free. I invest a lot of money in it each year, and all I need from the tennis association is to participate, to help in so many other things that need to be done along the way. But unfortunately, either they don’t have the experience or they don’t have the money.
Do you think they need to do more?
I think they have to do much more than what they are doing at the moment. Take the case of other tennis bodies in the region itself, like Qatar. See how successfully they have been working together. Or take any other association anywhere in the world. It is very important for us to co-exist and work together towards one objective and that is to improve the sport. In our association I am sure they are skilled, but they don’t have the money.
Where would you like to see this tournament go from where ?
I really don’t want to take it higher as that would deprive the younger players the chance to excel. This competition is meant to encourage these young players who are about to take that decisive step into women’s tennis. If the tournament grows bigger then only the big ones will come. I want to build the younger ones.
With five new upcoming courts, including a completely covered one at your new hotel along Shaikh Zayed Road, what are the chances this tournament may be shifted to the new location?
We will not have to worry about this for at least one more year. This is all depends on what sort of facilities come up in the new complex. I want to see these for myself first and then take a decision.
Maybe the facilities at the new property will perhaps be much better, but you cannot really compare this present facility to anything else anywhere in the world. You have the beach, the garden, the swimming pool, the restaurants. This is like heaven to the players.
