Stefanos Tsitsipas returns to Abu Dhabi for 14th Mubadala World Tennis Championship

Abu Dhabi: Stefanos Tsitsipas is returning to Abu Dhabi for the 14th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, completing a star-studded line-up for this year’s event, which runs from December 16-18 at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City, in Abu Dhabi.

The Greek world No 3, who has nine ATP singles titles to his name, made an instant impression on Mubadala Tennis Championship fans on his tournament debut in 2019, playing his part in a memorable final with Rafael Nadal, which ended 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (3) in Nadal’s favour.

“The Mubadala World Tennis Championship in 2019 was an incredible experience and I’m happy to be returning to Abu Dhabi,” said Tsitsipas, “I still cherish the love and support my fans there showed me and I’m looking forward to a wonderful time this year as well. Hopefully, I can leave this time with the trophy.”

Tsitsipas became the highest-ranked Greek player in history when he climbed to World No 3 on the ATP rankings in August 2021, in a year where he reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open. He has also reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open three times in 2019, 2021 and earlier this year.

Top priority

“I want to reiterate that getting the greatest players in the world to play in Abu Dhabi is always our top priority; Stefanos is another of the next generation of players emerging in the race for the No. 1 slot on the ATP Tour,” said John Lickrish, CEO, Flash Entertainment.

Tsitsipas will join world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, World No. 4 Casper Ruud, defending champion Andrey Rublev, 2022 US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe, and Britain’s No 1 Cameron Norrie in the men’s event. Ons Jabeur, the two-time 2022 Grand Slam finalist and world No 2, will look to defend her MWTC title against 2021 US Open Champion and British No 1 Emma Raducanu in an exciting women’s match on Day One.