Al Nabhani gets top seeding

Dubai: Oman's Fatma Al Nabhani and Chun Ming Yam of Hong Kong will be the top seeds in the girls' and boys' categories respectively at next week's seventh Abu Dhabi Junior ITF tournament.

The 16-year-old Al Nabhani is the top seed due to her ITF ranking of 180 at the end of last week.

The seventh edition of this tournament, which was started by Dr. Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Tennis Emirates Development Committee, will be held at the Abu Dhabi Health and Fitness Club.

Yasim Ebada of Egypt, who is the second seed, is a distant No 423, while Khristina Kazimova of Ukraine with a ranking of 454, will be the third seed.

In the boys' section, Yam has a ranking of 373, while Ahmad Triki of Tunisia with a ranking of 400 is the second seed and Alfredo Desiate of Italy is the third seed with a ranking of 414.

Juniors from the UAE will have a strong presence at this competition with 11 players featuring in both competitions.

Playing in his final year as a junior, Faisal Bastaki is the only UAE player featuring in the main draw of the boys' competition with a ranking of 962.

He may be joined by his junior squad teammates Khalid Al Hassani, Rashid Al Falasi, Mohammad Al Janahi, Ahmad Al Qah'tani, Abdullah Al Ali, Mohammad Ahli, Ammar Behroozian, Abdul Rahman Al Janahi and Saoud Al Ali during the qualifiers over this weekend.

In the girls competition, Maryam Behroozian and Amal Kambar have asked for wild card entries.

Perhaps for the first time, Pakistan has sent three juniors in the form of Sarah Mahboob Khan, Ushna Suhail and Meheq Khokhar.

The the main competition will get under way on January 21.

Falak Holding event

As many as 21 teams will compete in four divisions during the Falak Holding Men's Tennis League starting this weekend.

Led by Jean Francois Danican, Al Wasl A will be defending their title in Division A with Al Nasr Leisureland, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai Police and Super Sports Mina Seyahi vying to occupy the top position by the end of the season.

Division 2 also has five teams including Al Wasl B, Hyatt Regency, Al Nasr Club and two teams from Super Sports Mina Seyahi.

In Division 3 too there will be five teams for the title led by Al Nasr Leisureland, two teams from the India Club, Super Sports Mina Seyahi and Top Sports.

Division 4 will have six teams including Dubal, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Al Wasl, Al Bustan Rotana, Super Sports Mina Seyahi and Top Sports.

There is a dip in the total number of teams this season compared to the 25 competing last year.

- Staff Report