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In Pictures: Emma Raducanu shares glimpse of her sightseeing in Abu Dhabi, explores art gallery, desert and more

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Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu recently shared a glimpse of her time in Abu Dhabi after her Qatar Open exit. The 2021 US Open winner toured the city’s landscapes, visited the desert, and explored an art gallery.

Emma Raducanu returned to the WTA tour in January after recovering from an injury that had sidelined her since April 2023.

Raducanu received a wildcard into the singles main draw at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, but she was knocked out in the first round of the tournament by Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina with scores of 6-0, 7-6 (8-6).

On Thursday, the Brit posted a couple of pictures on Instagram from her time in Abu Dhabi. In one, she was standing in the sunset in the desert on a sand dune, and in another, she was seen art-viewing in the gallery, along with others, where she explored the scenic landscapes.

Get to Know Emma Raducanu, the British teen making history at Wimbledon

In the caption, she mentioned learning a lot and having epic experiences during the trip.

Emma Raducanu missed the majority of the 2023 season due to injuries that required surgery; however, she has since recovered and is back on the WTA tour, having competed in four WTA tournaments.

The 21-year-old made her return at the 2024 ASB Classic in Auckland, where she defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round. In the round of 16, she was knocked out by eventual finalist Elina Svitolina.

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“Women can achieve anything despite all odds” – Venus Williams “proud” to produce Copa 71 with Serena Williams and Alex Morgan

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Serena Williams Venus Williams

Seven-time Major winner Venus Williams recently expressed pride at her recent venture ‘Copa 71’, a sports documentary that she co-produced with younger sister Serena and football star Alex Morgan.

Venus is one of the best tennis players in the history of the sport. Having said that, her exploits are not limited to the court. She founded her clothing brand ‘EleVen’ 17 years ago, which unfortunately ceased its operations earlier this month.

Aside from her interest in fashion, Venus Williams also co-produced Copa 71 with Serena Williams and Alex Morgan. The documentary film, which told the extraordinary story of the 1971 Women’s Soccer World Cup, has been making waves recently. Its rights were recently acquired by Greenwich Entertainment, a US-based independent film distribution company specializing in narrative and documentary feature films.

Serena Williams vs Venus Williams in their first Grand Slam final meeting! | US Open 2001 Final - YouTube

Against that background, Venus took to her X account to celebrate the sports documentary being exhibited in theatres countrywide. She also remarked that “women can achieve anything, despite all odds”.

The documentary film, set in Mexico, is directed by James Erskine and Rachel Ramsay and stars footballers like Brandi Chastain, Elvira Aracen, and Birte Kjems. Interestingly enough, Serena Williams narrated a few parts of the documentary film.

Westbrook Studios was the production house behind financing and promoting Copa 71. For those unaware, they also produced the award-winning biopic ‘King Richard’, which chronicled the life of Serena and Venus Williams’ father Richard.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams has not played a professional tennis match since suffering a 1-6, 1-6 blowout loss to Belgium’s Greet Minnen in the first round of the 2023 US Open. She will, however, make her much-awaited comeback at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells next month.

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Rafael Nadal opens up on why Roger Federer ‘is not a friend

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Rafael Nadal Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal has explained why he doesn’t consider Roger Federer a friend despite being central to the Swiss maestro’s emotional farewell from the sport. Federer, 42, retired after the Laver Cup in September 2022, having won 20 Grand Slam titles and been long-cemented as an all-time great.

Both Nadal and Novak Djokovic have since surpassed Federer’s number of Slam wins, amid much debate over who deserves to be labelled the greatest male player in history. But regardless, the rivalry between the Spaniard and the Swiss star during their peak years remains iconic, and the pair have long voiced their mutual respect for one another.

Rafael Nadal says 'a part of his life left' when Roger Federer retired | CNN

Federer’s final bow came in a doubles match alongside Nadal, although the European pair were beaten in a tie-break decider by Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock. Afterwards, the ‘King of Clay’ was visibly struggling with his emotions, breaking down in tears as his partner waved goodbye to the crowd.

However, in an interview with El Objectve de La Sexta, Nadal has explained that despite his admiration for Federer, the pair are not too close on a friendship level. “I wouldn’t consider him a friend,” he said. “But someone familiar, with whom I have a great relationship.”

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Nadal Says Djokovic ‘Best Player In History’

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Djokovic Nadal

Rafael Nadal on Wednesday hailed longtime rival Novak Djokovic as the best player in the history of the sport.

“The numbers say yes, for me yes (he is the best in history),” Nadal said in an interview with El Objective de La Sexta when asked “who is the best?”

Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam titles having surpassed Nadal’s 22 when he captured last year’s French Open.

Despite that success, the controversial world number one from Serbia still struggles to translate his on-court triumphs into off-court popularity.

Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic head-to-head and best matches

“The image he projects is worse than he really is; I think he’s a good person,” added Nadal.

“There are moments of frustration. Novak breaks his racquet, but the next point he is ready to play at 100% again and it is the best I have ever seen.”

Nadal, 37, has been battling injury and missed virtually all of 2023. He was hurt again last month before sitting out the Australian Open.

With his career winding down, Nadal hailed compatriot and heir Carlos Alcaraz who is already a two-time major winner at the age of 20.

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They had huge debt on Rafael Nadal’s academy, that got wiped out by the Saudi deal”: Tennis commentator on Spaniard’s involvement in Jeddah E1 series

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Rafael Nadal

Tennis commentator Craig Shapiro recently revealed that Rafael Nadal’s academy has benefitted from the Spaniard’s ambassadorship deal with the Saudi Tennis Federation.

The state-owned tennis body of Saudi Arabia appointed Nadal as its ambassador in a bid to strengthen its presence in the sport. The announcement was made on January 15, 2024, just days after the 22-time Grand Slam champion announced his withdrawal from the Australian Open.

Notably, the Spaniard’s ownership of a team in the E1 World Championships has grabbed eyeballs following the announcement. The first grand prix of the E1 World Championships, which is an all-electric water boat racing competition, was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from February 2-3.

The Spaniard’s team, called Team Rafa, finished third in the standings after the conclusion of the first leg. Shapiro recently came across a fan question regarding the tennis icon’s probable motivation for being involved in the Jeddah racing event.

Carlos Alcaraz weighs in on controversial Rafael Nadal Saudi deal after joining £6m event | Tennis | Sport | Express.co.uk

In response, Shapiro didn’t comment on the Spaniard’s association with the series but revealed that the financial gains he made from the Saudi Tennis Federation deal helped his academy get rid of ‘huge debt’

Apart from the 22-time Grand Slam champion, Tom Brady, Virat Kohli, and Didier Drogba are among the other notable sporting personalities who own an E1 team. The subsequent races will be held in Venice, Marbella, Monaco, Geneva, Rotterdam, and Hong Kong.

Rafael Nadal preparing for Doha return | ATP Tour | Tennis

As an ambassador of the Saudi Tennis Federation (STF), Rafael Nadal would be responsible for mentoring budding champions of the Gulf nation. He is also set to establish a branch of Rafa Nadal Academy in the country. Currently, his academies are situated in Kuwait, Greece, Mexico, and his hometown of Manacor in Mallorca, Spain.

After taking over as the top representative of STF, the Spaniard expressed his excitement over the new role, saying:

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Eleven active players with the most retirements: Novak Djokovic joint fifth

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Novak Djokovic

Which active men’s tennis player has lost the most matches by retirement? Does anyone want to take a guess?

If not, then you will have to scroll down to get the answer and we have to say we were surprised by the name and the fact that his tally was six more than the next player on the list.

Nick Kyrgios’ first-ever defeat via retirement came against Dominic Thiem in Nice in 2015 as he threw in the towel with the score 4-3 in the opening set due to an elbow injury. His most recent retirement was at Wimbledon 2021 against Felix Auger-Aliassime when he retired at 2-6, 6-1 because of an abdominal injury.

Besides the 10 retirements, Kyrgios has also lost four matches via walkover.

Former world No 19 Marcel Granollers is also in double figures although he hasn’t retired since Moscow 2015 when he threw in the towel with the score 5-2 in Stephane Robert’s favour.

=8. Dusan Lajovic and Jiri Vesely – 11 retirements

Novak Djokovic | Biography, Grand Slams, & Facts | Britannica

Dusan Lajovic’s most recent retirement came in August 2023 at the Cincinnati Open. The Serbian came through qualifying and he upset eighth seed Jannik Sinner in the round of 32, but the workload took its toll as he retired from his fourth-round clash against Taylor Fritz with the American leading 5-0.

READ MORE: Seven tennis facts that sound fake, but are real: Novak Djokovic hasn’t won a set on grass against Andy Murray

Jiri Vesely didn’t have a particularly good time during the mid-2016 season as he retired from his match against Carlos Berlocq at the Umag Open in mid-July and then also retired from his match against Andrey Kuznetsov at the Winston-Salem Open a few weeks later.

He then featured in the first round of the US Open, but was unable to play against world No 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round, giving the top seed a walkover.

=5. Novak Djokovic, Benoit Paire and Mikhail Kukushkin – 13 retirements

Novak Djokovic is about to destroy a Roger Federer's super record!

Novak Djokovic came in for a lot of criticism during his younger days for not finishing matches. He even drew the ire of Roger Federer after he retired from his quarter-final clash against Andy Roddick at the 2009 Australian Open.

“He’s not a guy who’s never given up before. It’s disappointing. I’ve only done it once in my career. Andy [Roddick] totally deserved to win that match. I’m almost in favour of saying, you know what, if you’re not fit enough, just get out of here,” Federer said.

Ten of Djokovic’s 13 retirements came during the first 10 years of his career with only three coming after 2015. In fact, he hasn’t retired from a match since the 2019 US Open when he was booed after throwing in the towel during his round of 16 clash against Stan Wawrinka with the score 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 in the Swiss’ favour.

Benoit Paire is no stranger to controversy as he is the first to admit that he is not passionate about tennis. The 2021 season saw the Frenchman retire three times while in 2022 he threw in the towel twice.

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