STUTTGART: From the shadow of Chernobyl’s nuclear wasteland to international super-stardom and from penniless arrival in the US, without a word of English, to a fortune of $200 million.
It may sound like the stuff of Hollywood dreams, but the story of Maria Sharapova is a testament to the power of one individual to make it, whatever the odds, whatever the controversy, whatever people think.
On Wednesday in Stuttgart, the 30-year-old will return from a 15-month doping suspension to open the next chapter.
When she takes to the court to face Roberta Vinci, it will be to the consternation of many opponents and the relief, albeit privately, of a women’s tour left flagging by the absence of Serena Williams, probably Sharapova’s only serious rival in the arena-filling business.
Sharapova shot to international fame as a giggly 17-year-old Wimbledon winner in 2004 — the third youngest player to conquer the All England Club’s famous grass courts.
She would go on to win the Australian and US Opens while claiming two titles at the French Open, despite famously likening her movement on Roland Garros’s crushed red brick to a “cow on ice.”
Siberia-born Sharapova first picked up a racquet at the age of four in Sochi, where her Belarus-born parents had settled after escaping the deadly clutches of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Spotted by Martina Navratilova, she was encouraged to move to Nick Bollettieri’s Florida academy, the proving ground of Andre Agassi and Monica Seles.
Father Yuri and the seven-year-old Maria left for the US in 1994 with just $700 (644 euros) to their names.
Yuri took odd jobs like dishwashing to finance his daughter’s dreams although visa restrictions meant mother Yelena was back in Russia, separated from her daughter for two years.
When Sharapova was nine, the mighty IMG group spotted her talent and funded the $35,000 fees required for the Bollettieri school.
She made her professional debut at 14 in 2001 and by 2003 reached the world top 50. She won her first tour titles in Japan and Quebec.
Then in 2004, her Wimbledon final triumph over Williams made her an overnight international celebrity.
One year later, she became the first Russian woman to be ranked number one in the world while, in 2006, she won her second major at the US Open.
But in 2007 and 2008, she began her long, on-off battle with shoulder trouble.
She still had time to win the 2008 Australian Open before a second shoulder injury kept her off tour for the second half of the season, including missing the US Open and Beijing Olympics.
A 10-month absence from the sport, as she recuperated from surgery, saw her ranking slip to 126, but she was back in 2012, capturing the French Open to become the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam and adding Olympic silver to her resume that year.
Her 2014 French Open title was another high after a dispiriting injury low.
More injury troubles followed before the bombshell announcement of her positive test for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open — where she fell in the quarterfinals to Williams, her last match before her suspension.
With Williams, she has endured her most testing rivalry — on and off the court.
The two famously exchanged personal insults over their love lives when Sharapova began a two-year romance with Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov, a rumored previous suitor of the American.
Sharapova had previously been engaged to former Los Angeles Laker star Sasha Vujacic.
She may have been unlucky in love, but Sharapova hit the jackpot in her commercial affairs.
She made almost $30 million in 2015, according to Forbes, with $23 million of that coming from endorsements and once signed a contract extension with Nike worth a reported $70 million.
“Beauty sells. I have to realize that’s a part of why people want me. I’m not going to make myself ugly,” she said.
She owns luxury homes — one in Florida, one in California— and is making a lucrative career as an entrepreneur.
In 2012, she launched her own line of candy, ‘Sugarpova’, and during her suspension, signed up for a Harvard Business School course.
But she insists that retirement was never an option despite her absence meaning her world ranking has disappeared, leaving her at the mercy of wildcards into tournaments.
Those free-passes have irked many of her contemporaries already suspicious of the Russian’s aloofness.
“I know I am respected,” says an unconcerned Sharapova.
Sharapova’s rags-to-riches journey resumes in Stuttgart
Sharapova’s rags-to-riches journey resumes in Stuttgart
UFC’s Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady says Palestinian people ‘the real fighters’ ahead of Riyadh bout
- The 29-year-old takes on Belgium’s Bolaji Oki at UFC Fight Night 250 on Feb. 1
LONDON: For more than a decade, Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady has — quite literally — been flying the flag for Palestine in the world of professional mixed martial arts.
His nickname, “The Pride of Palestine,” speaks to his roots and why “alam Filastin” can be seen draped over his shoulders before and after each fight.
The Middle East has shaped Al-Selwady, 29, as a person and fighter. His professional career began in the Desert Force and Brave promotions, in Jordan and Bahrain respectively.
On Feb. 1 in Riyadh, he fights in the region for the first time in five years, a rare Arab face in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. At UFC Fight Night 250, Al-Selwady (15-4-0) opens the card against Belgium’s Bolaji Oki (9-2-0).
And while he now lives and trains in Dallas, Texas, the Palestinian-American fighter is expecting the bout to feel like a homecoming.
“Honestly, it’s a very beautiful feeling fighting in the Middle East,” Al-Selwady told Arab News. “It’s almost like you’re fighting at home. Even though I haven’t lived in the region for a long time, I know people are going to be cheering for me and I plan to deliver that big win in front of my people.
“There aren’t that many Arab fighters that are actually from the Middle East who really made a big name in the UFC. Some guys have Arab origins but never actually lived in the region, but it is where I started my MMA career.”
As he does in every fight, Al-Selwady will take to the ring holding a Palestinian flag, with trunks likely some combination of green, white, red and black. He feels strongly that as an athlete he has a duty to remind the world about the struggles of the Palestinian people.
“I’ve represented Palestine throughout my career and it’s a beautiful responsibility,” Al-Selwady explained. “It’s a beautiful weight to carry on your shoulders because you feel almost like you’re leading and your people are watching.
“It gives me such motivation and really does fuel me because anytime you’re feeling like you’re going through something, you look at the people that you’re representing. It fuels me to go through all of the pain and to come out as a winner.
“They’re the real fighters out there. They’re my heroes, they’re my inspiration. It just pushes me to work harder harder because I choose to go through the fighting, the weight cuts, the discomfort. They don’t choose to be under genocide. But that’s their situation just because of who they are and where they live.”
The contest with Oki in Riyadh will be his first fight since the recent ceasefire in Gaza, following 18 months of bombardment.
“It’s a great announcement,” Al-Selwady said. “We’ve been waiting for it since the day this started so it makes me really happy. It will be nice for people to be able to take a breath after so long. I hope to give the Palestinian people a victory, though I always say that winning a fight is great, but the more important fight is still going on.”
Al-Selwady’s contest will be extra special because for the first time in five years he will have his father in his corner. The father-son combination was a regular fixture during Al-Selwady’s MMA career in the Gulf, but has been a rarer sight in recent years as he has fought mostly in the US and Europe.
“In Saudi this is going to be the first time my dad will be cornering me in a long time,” Al-Selwady said with a smile. “My family, especially when I lived in the Middle East, were very invested in my career. My mom was basically my nutritionist, and my dad was my coach.
“We did every single training session together. He would film every session that I did on tape and then review it, and then he would study tape of my opponents too.
“Even now, we have a shared folder and I upload my weekly sparrings, and he’s always giving me advice on how I can improve. I guess you could call it a family business.”
That family business began when Al-Selwady was a teenager. He recalls being “a really high-energy kid” who was “always getting into trouble.” A natural athlete, he dabbled in baseball and football but it was when broadcasts of the UFC and Strikeforce were on TV that he was left most transfixed.
“When I first saw MMA, I knew that it was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Al-Selwady said. “I was smart in school and got good grades but I was never going to be a doctor or an engineer. I always wanted to be a professional MMA fighter.”
Al-Selwady started with kickboxing and then became a sparring partner for some fighters in the Desert Force MMA promotion in Jordan. He made his first Desert Force appearance at 10 days’ notice as a 17-year-old, winning by technical knockout.
“They were really surprised at how good I was, how aggressive; and how even if I was getting caught in submissions, I would get right back up and say, ‘let’s go some more.’ I trained so hard and God just set everything up for me to take my place the way I did.
“MMA has just grown so much since then. Back when I started, I was one of the first active MMA fighters in the Middle East; now I’m one of the last ones going. There are just a few of us left who started at that time and are still going strong right now.”
After building a reputation over more than a decade, Al-Selwady finally made his debut last year in the UFC, widely regarded as the pinnacle MMA promotion. The Jordan-born grappler fought valiantly but lost a roller-coaster contest to Loik Radzhabov.
“Feeling bad after losing isn’t going to change anything and, honestly, the way I lost, I learned so much from it,” Al-Selwady said philosophically. “It actually gave me even more confidence in myself than before.
“Most of the fights that I’ve won before, I was winning the whole time but in this one I had to fight through adversity in the beginning of the fight. I came back from that and then I was winning but let go of the gas pedal in the third round because I felt confident. Then he just leaped in and caught me.
“It was definitely a lesson for me, like God reminding me that I could do it, I was there, but then I got a little too cocky. You have to focus second by second because I looked at him and I smirked in the third round like … ‘that’s it, we’re done.’ But we weren’t done.”
Al-Selwady put that defeat behind him by beating Amin Ayoub last May by unanimous decision in the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship’s ADXC 4 event. In Riyadh, he returns to the UFC and faces a late addition to the card in Oki; his original opponent Daniel Leavitt dropped out, though he is in talks to rebook the fight for April.
With his sights now firmly set on the first UFC victory of an impressive MMA career, Al-Selwady is in confident mood and guarantees that he will put on a show for those in the Saudi capital, and the millions watching at home.
“I don’t train for fights, I train to be a better fighter and I train to be a better person,” Al-Selwady said. “I’m focused on getting the job done and I’m really excited to get back in there.
“Since the day I started fighting until now, I’ve never had a boring fight. Ever. And I don’t ever plan to. I’m not a boring fighter and I’m not a boring person, even outside of fighting. I always keep things interesting.
“Whether you’re an MMA fan or not, this fight will catch your attention. It is the first fight of the night, and it will be the fight of the night.”
GCC rally legends set for iconic reunion in Hail
- Part of 20th anniversary of Hail Toyota International Rally
- Retired drivers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman will race
JEDDAH: Several retired drivers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman will participate in a “Legends Rally” as a part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Hail Toyota International Rally, which takes place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.
The drivers include Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and former member of Al-Faisal Racing Team, Qatari champion Saeed Al-Hajri, and Saudi rally champion Abdullah Bakhashab.
Other participants include Saudi rally champion Ahmed Al-Sabban, Omani rally champion Hamad Al-Wahaibi, and Saudi rally driver Farhan Al-Shamri, winner of the first edition of the Hail International Rally.
The event is sponsored by the Saudi motor federation and Jameel Motorsports.
The Hail Toyota International Rally covers the first rounds of several contests including the FIA World Cup for Baja Cross-Country Rallies, Middle East Baja Cup, Saudi Toyota Desert Rally Championship, and FIA World Cup for Baja Cross-Country Rallies for motorcycles.
The local and international drivers competing in the two-day event for cars and motorcycles include world champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi, world champion Juan Cruze Yacopini, Dania Aqeel, Saleh Al-Saif, Maha Al-Hamli, Hamza Bakhashab, Miroslav Zapletal and Abdullah Al-Shaqawi.
‘Pioneering change’ — new report highlights rise of women’s football in Saudi Arabia
- The analysis by NEOM Sport highlights the achievements and milestones of women’s football in the Kingdom to date and looks at its future
NEOM: A new report has been published that shines a light on the current landscape of women’s football in Saudi Arabia, looking at how it has grown so far and examining future opportunities.
The report by NEOM Sport, in partnership with the Asian Football Confederation, reveals how football has grown rapidly among women in the Kingdom, the Middle East and Asia. NEOM is a Presenting Partner of the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League.
Women’s football in Saudi Arabia has become a catalyst for their increased participation in sport on a wider scale, helping to redefine sports culture and societal norms for the future as well as promoting gender equality and healthier lifestyles in alignment with the Saudi Vision 2030.
Aalia Abdulaziz Al-Rasheed, head of women’s football at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation said: “It has been a truly remarkable journey for Saudi women’s football over the last six years since the establishment of a dedicated women’s football department at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
“Driven by Saudi Vision 2030, we are hugely proud of the transformation across all areas of the game, including the establishment of four national teams, five competitions, 77,000 girls playing in our annual Schools League, six girls’ regional training centers and numerous coaching/refereeing development programs. It is truly something that needs to be seen to be believed.”
Jan Paterson, managing director of NEOM Sport, said: “This report, created in collaboration with our contributors, is our way of truly understanding the landscape — where we are, what obstacles lie ahead and how the future could look.
“But it’s about more than just football. It’s about providing more opportunities for women and demonstrating the far-reaching impact that sport can have on individuals and communities. Alongside the AFC, we aim to play our part in unlocking the full potential of women’s sport by telling the story of how key stakeholders are redefining football and empowering women across the Kingdom.”
With contributions from multiple stakeholders from the women’s game — including SAFF, the Saudi Ministry of Sport, the Saudi Sports for All Federation, the AFC and more — the report examines the strides taken that led to a significant increase in participation in women’s football between 2022-23.
Milestones over the past six years include the launch of the Saudi Women’s Premier League and women’s national team, the appointment of female leaders and achieving an official FIFA world ranking. Other contributing components include developmental pathways at grassroots level, the importance of leadership and coaching, investment in infrastructure and accessibility, and commercialization of the sport. These insights are among many highlighting how women’s football drives tangible strategic efforts that are propelling the sport and communities forward.
“Our mission is simple: We want to inspire and offer new opportunities for girls throughout the country to realize their dreams and showcase their talent and love for the beautiful game,” Al-Rasheed said.
“Our journey has inspired millions along the way, not just in Saudi Arabia but across different parts of the world. We are not doing this alone. We are open to the world and are already in 62 active partnerships with federations to co-develop the women’s game and realize its full potential. Today, 60 international players from 20 nationalities play in our leagues and have joined us on this journey.
“We are living in hugely exciting times and there is so much more to come from Saudi women’s football in the years to come.”
Wearing the Saudi kit ‘is enough for me,’ says Al-Hilal star Majd Al-Otaibi
- The 18-year-old spoke to Arab News about the special bond with her father, growing up in the US and embracing football in the Kingdom
RIYADH: As Majd Al-Otaibi listened intently to the question being asked, tears began to well up in her eyes. As she started to answer, her voice broke a little.
The Al-Hilal star, who turned 18 recently, was answering a question about what it means to play for her country’s football team, to wear the legendary green kit and hear the national anthem.
She first had the honor as a 16-year-old and has established herself as one of the Kingdom’s most promising talents, ready to break down barriers and smash glass ceilings.
“Honestly, there’s tears in my eyes right now when you’re explaining this,” the eloquent Al-Otaibi told Arab News.
“I love Saudi very much, so to wear the kit for me, that’s all I need. Like, even if I’m sitting on the bench, even if I’m in the stands, it’s enough for me.”
Al-Otaibi was born into football. Her father, Fahad, played for Al-Tai in the early 2000s. And while she was too young to remember much of his career, her older sister, Najd, who plays for Al-Riyadh, was once the team’s mascot and walked onto the field holding her father’s hand.
While she lacks the memories, he is her biggest idol, and she speaks with reverence about him. “He’s my biggest inspiration,” she proclaimed proudly.
“When I first started football, he was my first coach. So even though I didn’t know anything about football, he was always there with me, he was my first coach, and obviously this made him my first inspiration, and I saw him as an amazing player.
“Every time he tried to teach me something or show me something, I would forget what he was teaching me, and I would just look at him and I’d be like ‘wow.’”
The love she feels for her father is returned in equal measure.
“The word ‘proud’ doesn’t adequately express how I feel about Majd,” Fahad was recorded as saying in a 2023 video which was produced for Saudi Arabia’s aborted bid for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
“The Saudi league will not be the end of our ambitions, I think she will rise to the heights of international professionalism. I have faith in her. She will succeed in ways that I was incapable of.”
With an older sister and younger brother, the Al-Otaibi family bonds are strong, but she has a special place in her heart for her father. “(He) is my best friend through football and through life in general. He’s always with me no matter what,” she said.
“I think he’s a big part of why I’m where I am today, and no matter what happens, he’s always supporting me. He’s at every single game, if he can, even the ones outside of Saudi with the under-20 national team. He’s always with me.”
That included flying all the way from Saudi Arabia to Florida during her year-long residence at the famed IMG Academy, an opportunity that arose through the increased investment in the women’s game by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
It was not her first experience Stateside, however, having lived in Cedar City, Utah, for almost seven years as her parents continued their studies in the US and were able to expose their children to a different culture.
“I have a whole different view of life,” she explained. “When I went to the US, I didn’t know what was my culture, or what was the American culture, or what culture I’m supposed to have, because I went at an age where I’m still learning these things.
“So when I went there, I learned their culture. I learned everything. I was enjoying my life. It was amazing. Alhamdulillah. But when you come back to Saudi and you experience the Saudi culture, and you’ve experienced the American culture, and here you see the difference, and I’m 100 percent with the Saudi culture.”
It was in America she first started playing football, for a team coached by her father. It was called the Minions, with a bright yellow kit resembling the characters from the iconic film franchise.
When her family returned home in 2019, she was 12 and uncertain about her football career. “When I first came back to Saudi, I had no idea there was women’s football,” she said.
“I had no idea. I had in my mind that I was going to come back and I was done with football, because I didn’t (know). There was nothing online, there was no social media, there was nothing to tell me if it was there.”
Her return coincided with the boom in women’s football but also the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is a good story,” she joked.
“When I first came back, there was this one team that I did tryouts for. I did one training (and) the next day coronavirus (struck), and everything was shut down. I never got to play for them.”
But it opened her eyes to what was possible, and only a few short years later she was stepping out proudly wearing the national team kit. Her rapid ascension — joining Al-Hilal in 2023 via Al-Yamamah — mirrors that of women’s football in the Kingdom overall.
So what about the future?
She dreams of being a trailblazer and playing professionally outside of Saudi Arabia. “I think this should be a goal for every young player,” she explained.
“Because to develop outside and to come back, it’s not only developing you as a player, but it’s developing your country, and it’s inspiring younger players to do this as well.
“You have a lot of examples from the men’s senior national team — Faisal Al-Ghamdi, Saud Abdulhamid — they’re representing their country very well outside, so I think this should be our inspiration, and it should be what we want.
“We would want to do it for our country as well, to represent them outside (Saudi Arabia); Europe or the US league, wherever it is, but to develop for us and for our country, I think that’s my biggest aspiration as well.”
She draws inspiration from the country hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup. And she hopes Saudi Arabia will host a major women’s tournament, perhaps the AFC Women’s Asian Cup or even the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I think we will have the chance to host (the Women’s Asian Cup) one day, Inshallah, or any big tournament, World Cup, or whatever it is,” she said excitedly.
“I think Saudi is ready for this, and we need to open up the world to women’s football in Saudi.”
Nikola Jokic hits 66-foot heave to highlight his 5th straight triple-double
- Jokic finished with 35 points, 22 rebounds and a season-high 17 assists against Sacramento
- Jokic’s shot highlighted his fifth straight triple-double, all before the end of the third quarter
DENVER: Nikola Jokic took an inbounds pass with 1.7 seconds left in the third quarter, turned and let fly with a 66-foot heave that got all net at the other end. He casually walked over to his bench as his teammates mobbed him and the sold-out arena erupted.
“I thought it had a chance, and then boom,” Russell Westbrook said. “The best part of it was no reaction from him. Which I love.”
It appeared to be a footnote in what looked like a Denver Nuggets blowout win Thursday night. Denver led Sacramento 110-85 at that point but had to hold off a late rally to pull out a 132-123 victory over the Kings, its fourth straight.
Jokic finished with 35 points, 22 rebounds and a season-high 17 assists, and the shot from three-quarters court stood out among his 12 field goals.
“Not surprising,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “He’s a guy that has this uncanny ability.”
Jokic took the low-percentage shot but saw his 3-point average rise. He made 2 of 3 from behind the arc and is now shooting 47.9 percent from deep.
“When you play you want to make every shot,” he said. “I took it to make it and I did make it. It’s a lucky shot, not really a high-percentage shot, but I took it to make it. It’s three points. It’s going to help us.”
Jokic’s shot highlighted his fifth straight triple-double, all before the end of the third quarter, and his 20th of the season, the most in the NBA this season.
He also has an uncanny ability to put up historic numbers. He is now averaging a triple-double for the season — 30.2 points, 13.4 rebounds and 10 assists — and two weeks ago he and Westbrook became the first teammates to both record triple-doubles in same game multiple times.
Thursday night he hit another milestone.
According to the NBA, Jokic joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to record a game with at least 35 points, 20 rebounds and 15 assists.
“I think this the best basketball I’ve ever played,” Jokic said. “I’m feeling good out there, I’m in shape, the ball is going in. I think I’m playing really good.”
Jokic earned another All-Star spot for the event next month in San Francisco. It is the seventh straight time he has been named to the All-Star game and it’s the fifth in a row as a starter.
“Just to be on the floor with the best players in the league is an honor,” he said.
