Abu Dhabi: The Tennis at the Palace event in Abu Dhabi will ‘definitely return next year’ after its inaugural edition proved a hit, according to its jubilant organiser.

Vicky Collins said the first ‘Fortnum & Mason presents Tennis at the Palace’ at Emirates Palace hotel between Thursday and Saturday had exceeded her expectations in terms of turnout and player response.

Past tennis masters and mistresses at what Collins says was the UAE’s first grass court tournament included former Wimbledon singles champions Richard Krajicek, Pat Cash, Marion Bartoli and Jana Novotna.

Britain’s Tim Henman, a six-time grand slam semi-finalist, Morocco’s Younus Al Aynaoui, flamboyant Frenchman Henri Leconte, Iranian trickshot maestro Mansour and 1970s and 80s veterans Mikael Pernfors and Peter McNamara completed the line-up at what as a quintessentially British garden party setting.

An effervescent Collins, who has run a similar event — ‘The Boodles’ in Manchester, England, for several years — told Gulf News at the tournament on Saturday: “Will we be returning next year? Oh, we are definitely back next year. Everyone associated with the event has already echoed that.

“It is really something quite unique.”

Collins said the turnout on Friday and Saturday had been close to its 500-seat capacity at the purpose-built grass court — “exactly what we wanted for year one, and something which surpassed our expectations.”

The bubbly Liverpudlian was particularly pleased with the 100 or so Emirati women who attended a ladies’ night, held under the patronage of Shaikha Shaikha Bint Mohammad Bin Khalid Al Nahyan, to launch the event on Thursday.

This was instigated by Collins to boost UAE women’s interest in tennis. She said: “I think we need to show that we have built an environment that local females can enjoy and appreciate. It was really groundbreaking to see our male players showcasing tennis to an all-female audience.

”That commitment to keep tennis in the UAE and get more women into tennis is a very strong reality now.”

The ‘amazing’ response of the players, who provoked laughter and cheers aplenty with their tennis skills and comedy antics, also delighted Collins, who added: “A lot of them have been to the region before; Pat Cash is obviously an ambassador for the Mubadala World Tennis Championship [in January]. Henman plays golf here and he knows the area as well.”