Riyadh Season Partners with World Boxing Council

Riyadh Season and the prestigious World Boxing Council (WBC) announced a partnership on Monday. (SPA)
Riyadh Season and the prestigious World Boxing Council (WBC) announced a partnership on Monday. (SPA)
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Riyadh Season Partners with World Boxing Council

Riyadh Season and the prestigious World Boxing Council (WBC) announced a partnership on Monday. (SPA)
Riyadh Season and the prestigious World Boxing Council (WBC) announced a partnership on Monday. (SPA)

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Advisor Turki bin Abdulmohsen Alalshikh announced on Monday a partnership between Riyadh Season and the prestigious World Boxing Council (WBC).

He said: "This partnership represents a vital step forward for Riyadh Season's mission to elevate the Kingdom's entertainment sector", adding that WBC's standing as a leading and respected organization in the boxing world makes the alliance particularly impactful.

Alalshikh said Riyadh Season strives to unite audiences worldwide through a captivating and diverse range of entertainment experiences, and as such, "this collaboration with WBC presents a unique opportunity to attract a global audience".

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said: "We are pleased to welcome the Riyadh Season as a new official partner of the World Boxing Council. The Riyadh Season is a huge event, considered as one of the largest entertainment events in the world, and the sport of boxing has recently been linked to it, as Riyadh has become internationally recognized as the capital of boxing sport, where three exciting fights were held during the previous Riyadh season."

Adding that the cooperation between the two entities will generate many "distinctive and unique opportunities", Sulaiman stressed that "we look forward to participating in this growing passion in Saudi Arabia."

"This partnership will create opportunities and memories that will extend into the lives of many boxing fans around the world through social responsibility programs that include 'WBC Cares' programs in hospitals, orphanages and schools, in addition to awareness programs with experts in the fields of addiction, bullying, domestic violence and mental health," Sulaiman said.



Alexander Zverev Beats Tommy Paul to Reach His Third Australian Open Semifinal 

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev in action during his quarter final match against Tommy Paul of the US. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev in action during his quarter final match against Tommy Paul of the US. (Reuters)
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Alexander Zverev Beats Tommy Paul to Reach His Third Australian Open Semifinal 

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev in action during his quarter final match against Tommy Paul of the US. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev in action during his quarter final match against Tommy Paul of the US. (Reuters)

Alexander Zverev reached his third Australian Open semifinal with a 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6, 6-1 win over 12th-seeded Tommy Paul of the United States on Tuesday.

The No. 2-ranked Zverev had to save a set point in each of the first two sets but then dominated both tiebreakers.

Zverev is a two-time Grand Slam runner-up. He never has made it that far in Australia.

The German next plays the winner of a quarterfinal later Tuesday that he described as a “clash of generations” between 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who is 37, and four-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz, 21.

Zverev needed three match points — one on Paul's serve, and two more on his own — to clinch the victory, which he closed with an ace.

Paul was a semifinalist in Melbourne in 2023 and had won both of his previous matches against Zverev, but this was their first Grand Slam meeting.

“To be honest, I should have been down two sets to love. He played better than me,” Zverev said. “I was not playing great, and I thought he was. I somehow won the first set, somehow won the second set I’m in the semifinals, somehow.”

He called the Djokovic-Alcaraz quarterfinal “probably the highlight match of the whole tournament.”

“Two of the best players that probably ever touched a tennis racket,” Zverev said. “It’s a clash of generations.”