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AlUla to Host Arab Cup and World Championship for Camels

The event is part of their broader initiative to establish AlUla as the premier destination for traditional sports in the region. (SPA)
The event is part of their broader initiative to establish AlUla as the premier destination for traditional sports in the region. (SPA)
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AlUla to Host Arab Cup and World Championship for Camels

The event is part of their broader initiative to establish AlUla as the premier destination for traditional sports in the region. (SPA)
The event is part of their broader initiative to establish AlUla as the premier destination for traditional sports in the region. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia's Royal Commission for AlUla Governorate announced on Wednesday its plans to host the inaugural Arab Camel Cup and the World Camel Endurance Championship, in collaboration with the Arab and International Camel Federations.

The event is part of their broader initiative to establish AlUla as the premier destination for traditional sports in the region.

The Arab Camel Cup is scheduled to take place on May 3 at the Mughira Heritage Sports Village. Elite camels from 15 countries will compete in 13 rounds for prizes exceeding SAR3 million.

The World Camel Endurance Championship will kick off on May 4, featuring camels and jockeys from various corners of the globe, vying for prizes totaling SAR2 million.

The race consists of two stages, spanning a distance of 16 kilometers. Both men and women will participate in two categories, utilizing the riding techniques of Hail, Thanaya Bakkar, Zamoul, and Thanaya Qadan.

Each first-place winner in the two categories will be awarded a prize of SAR500,000, while the remaining prizes will be distributed among the winners of the other categories.

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Simona Halep Gets a Wild-card Entry for Australian Open Qualifying

FILE - Simona Halep, of Romania, returns a shot to Daria Snigur, of Ukraine, during the first round of the US Open tennis tournament, Aug. 29, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - Simona Halep, of Romania, returns a shot to Daria Snigur, of Ukraine, during the first round of the US Open tennis tournament, Aug. 29, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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Simona Halep Gets a Wild-card Entry for Australian Open Qualifying

FILE - Simona Halep, of Romania, returns a shot to Daria Snigur, of Ukraine, during the first round of the US Open tennis tournament, Aug. 29, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - Simona Halep, of Romania, returns a shot to Daria Snigur, of Ukraine, during the first round of the US Open tennis tournament, Aug. 29, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep, working her way back from a drug suspension, and Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt's 16-year-old son Cruz were among the players awarded wild-card entries Wednesday for Australian Open qualifying next month, The Associated Press reported.
Halep, a 33-year-old from Romania, was the runner-up at Melbourne Park in 2018 and won major titles at the French Open later that year and at Wimbledon in 2019. She has been ranked as high as No. 1 but is currently 877th and hasn't played at any Grand Slam tournament since 2022 after missing all tournaments for 1 1/2 years because of a doping case.
Cruz Hewitt is ranked outside the top 1,000. His father, who won two major trophies and reached No. 1 in the rankings, made his Australian Open debut in 1997 at age 15 via a qualifying wild card. Lleyton Hewitt retired in 2016, was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2021 and is currently Australia's Davis Cup captain.
Other men who got wild cards for the Jan. 6-9 qualifying event include 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Chris Eubanks and former top 25 players Dan Evans and Bernard Tomic, while the women's group includes Paris Olympics doubles gold medalist and 2012 French Open singles runner-up Sara Errani and top 20 players Petra Martic and Ana Konjuh.
Main-draw action begins in Melbourne on Jan. 12.