Sheikh Hasher hails Khalaf Al Habtoor on success of Habtoor Tennis Challenge

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Sheikh Hasher Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, President of Tennis Emirates, has hailed the success of 26th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, which has been and remains a center of attention for tennis fans locally and internationally.

He emphasized that the Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, which began in 1998, is the oldest women's tennis tournament in the region and has played a significant role in promoting the sport, not only in the UAE but also throughout the region.

Sheikh Hasher credited Khalaf Al Habtoor, Founder and Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, for the success of the tournament.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Al Habtoor Group for their remarkable role in supporting sports in general and tennis in particular, said Sheikh Hasher.

Regarding the Tennis Emirates' plan to spread the game widely in recent years, Sheikh Hasher said: "The Tennis Federation always aims to promote the game. We hope for the best and look forward to a better future in this regard. We seek to expand the game on a broader scale because tennis is a beneficial sport that can be practiced at any age,” he added.

First held in 1998, this tournament is classified as an ITF Women’s Circuit competition. The competition started off as a $25,000 ITF event, before being raised to a $75,000 tournament between 1999 to 2015.

Since 2016, the annual fixture has been upgraded to a $100,000 plus hospitality event on the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour attracting some of the top champions alongside a fast-improving breed of promising young stars.

The brainchild of Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Founding Chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, the annual tournament has managed to live up to its hype of encouraging the development of women’s tennis in the UAE and the region, while raising the profile of the sport across the Arab world.