The upcoming 10th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2017 (MWTC) in Abu Dhabi, UAE is set to be a historic occasion with Rafael Nadal confirmed to defend his current title and vying to secure his fifth.

Joining Nadal for his ninth appearance at the event are current world number eight Dominic Thiem, and world number 10 Milos Raonic.

This year’s MWTC will run from December 28 to 30 at the International Tennis Center at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi. A sell-out crowd of over 5,000 per day are expected to attend and experience the thrilling on-court line-up.  Whilst off-court, the Tennis Village will be offering an action packed schedule, with plenty of fun for the whole family to experience.

“I am extremely excited to play in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship again later this year. This tournament is very important to me as it is not only the 10th edition and my ninth appearance, but I will also be defending my title. I am very proud to be part of this great event and I know it will be a really enjoyable and challenging tournament as always,” said Nadal.

As always, in the unique ‘winner takes all’ format of the MWTC, the victor will claim $250,000 in prize money. The tournament, which has firmly established itself as the beginning of the global tennis season, was first staged in 2009 and has continuously attracted the best players in the world.

To celebrate the landmark 10th edition, organisers FLASH Entertainment, the region’s premier live events company, in partnership with Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi based investment and development company, are releasing tickets starting from Dh50 ($13.60).

Those who purchase a ticket in the first 10 days will be entered into daily draws to win unbelievable prizes including signed merchandise from this year’s and past MWTC players, star player clinic spots and the chance to meet their favourite player and carry his bag out alongside them on court.

John Lickrish, CEO of Flash Entertainment, who launched the tournament in 2008 said: “To be celebrating the tenth landmark edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship this year is something FLASH are truly proud of. We bring a tournament format that is completely unique to the UAE, where tennis fans can enjoy watching the world’s best players battle it out, and families and friends can come together for a great day out to lap up the excitement both on and off-court. Over the past nine editions we have seen 125,000 fans come and join us in Abu Dhabi, which goes to show its popularity here. With Nadal, Raonic and Thiem already lined up, this year will certainly be another thrilling event.”

Rashed Al Harmoodi, head of Corporate External Relations at Mubadala, the title sponsor of the tournament, added: “We are delighted to bring back the Mubadala World Tennis Championship to Abu Dhabi in its tenth edition.

“Each year we aim to encourage young people and tennis fans in the UAE to take part in the sport and be active and healthy. We have already managed to do this with thousands over the last ten years, by bringing these living tennis legends to play some of their best tennis in Abu Dhabi. We have an exciting programme of activities over the coming months where we will get racquets into their hands, and make inroads into the hearts and minds of even more youngsters.” – TradeArabia News Service