Capitala World Tennis Championship
Encyclopedia
The World Tennis Championship (also known as the Mubadala World Tennis Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a singles-only, professional tennis
exhibition
tournament, played on outdoor hard courts. It has been held annually in January since 2009 at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex
, Abu Dhabi
, United Arab Emirates
.
In November 2008, sponsor companies Flash and Capitala announced with IMG
their partnership to create a new tennis exhibition for the beginning of the season, to take place in Abu Dhabi
, United Arab Emirates
(UAE). The event, first named Capitala World Tennis Championship, was conceived to promote the sport in the region, creating another world class tennis event in the Middle East
alongside the Association of Tennis Professionals
(ATP) and Women's Tennis Association
(WTA) Dubai Tennis Championships
, already taking place in the UAE, the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open
and the WTA Qatar Total Open
, taking place in Doha
, Qatar
, and the WTA Tour Championships
, also set in Doha from 2008 to 2010. The six-players, three-days exhibition, with a winner-takes-all prize money of 250,000US$
, preceded by weeks of tennis-themed activities in the region, including an amateur Community Cup tournament in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, was created to take place early in the season, before the start of the actual tour events, as a warm-up exhibition for the top players, similar to the AAMI Classic in Melbourne.
The inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship took place from January 1 to January 3, 2009, with Rafael Nadal
, Roger Federer
, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydenko
, Andy Roddick
and James Blake
taking part. Murray won the event, defeating Blake, Federer, and then-World No. 1 Nadal in the final.
As of October 2009, Federer, Nadal and Davydenko announced they would return for the 2010 edition, with Stanislas Wawrinka
, David Ferrer
and Robin Söderling
completing the field. Nadal went one further this time, defeating compatriot Ferrer in the semi-finals and Soderling in the final without losing a set. Federer won third place with victory over Ferrer.
For the 2011 edition of the tournament, Nadal, Federer and Soderling returned with Tomáš Berdych
, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marcos Baghdatis
completing the six-man line-up. Nadal defended the title with a hard-fought victory over Federer after they respectively beat Berdych and Soderling in the semi-finals.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
exhibition
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
tournament, played on outdoor hard courts. It has been held annually in January since 2009 at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex
Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex
The Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex, is a sports arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.The complex opened in 2004 as part of the Zayed Sports City. It has a seating capacity of 5000 on Centre Court and 600 on Court 2...
, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
History
IMG (business)
IMG, originally known as the International Management Group is a global sports and media business headquartered in New York City.-History:...
their partnership to create a new tennis exhibition for the beginning of the season, to take place in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
(UAE). The event, first named Capitala World Tennis Championship, was conceived to promote the sport in the region, creating another world class tennis event in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
alongside the Association of Tennis Professionals
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(ATP) and Women's Tennis Association
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
(WTA) Dubai Tennis Championships
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...
, already taking place in the UAE, the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open
Qatar ExxonMobil Open
The Qatar Open, currently known as the Qatar ExxonMobil Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour...
and the WTA Qatar Total Open
Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
, taking place in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, and the WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
, also set in Doha from 2008 to 2010. The six-players, three-days exhibition, with a winner-takes-all prize money of 250,000US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
, preceded by weeks of tennis-themed activities in the region, including an amateur Community Cup tournament in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, was created to take place early in the season, before the start of the actual tour events, as a warm-up exhibition for the top players, similar to the AAMI Classic in Melbourne.
The inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship took place from January 1 to January 3, 2009, with Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
, Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
, Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
and James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
taking part. Murray won the event, defeating Blake, Federer, and then-World No. 1 Nadal in the final.
As of October 2009, Federer, Nadal and Davydenko announced they would return for the 2010 edition, with Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
, David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
and Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
completing the field. Nadal went one further this time, defeating compatriot Ferrer in the semi-finals and Soderling in the final without losing a set. Federer won third place with victory over Ferrer.
For the 2011 edition of the tournament, Nadal, Federer and Soderling returned with Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...
completing the six-man line-up. Nadal defended the title with a hard-fought victory over Federer after they respectively beat Berdych and Soderling in the semi-finals.
Past finals
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship The 2011 Mubadala World Tennis Championship was a non-ATP affiliated exhibition tournament. World's top players were competing in the knock-out event, which has prize money of $250,000 to the winner. The event was held at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex at the Zayed Sports City in Abu... |
 Rafael NadalRafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals... |
 Roger FedererRoger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles... |
7–6(4), 7–6(3) |
| 2010 2010 Capitala World Tennis Championship – Singles Andy Murray was the defending champion, but decided not to participate this year.Rafael Nadal won in the final 7-6 7-5, against Robin Söderling.-Seeds:The top two seeds received a bye to the semi-finals.# Roger Federer ... |
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals... |
 Robin SöderlingRobin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010... |
7–6(3), 7–5 |
| 2009 |  Andy Murray |
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals... |
6–4, 5–7, 6–3 |