Andrey Rublev, the world No 5, has been confirmed as the fifth male player competing at next month's Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, organisers announced on Tuesday. Rublev, 24, adds his name to an already stacked lineup for the six-player tournament featuring 20-time Grand Slam champion - and five-time MWTC winner - Rafael Nadal, former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, world No 8 Casper Ruud, and 19th-ranked Denis Shapovalov. Meanwhile, the one-off women's match will be contested by US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic. It will be Rublev's third appearance at MWTC having made his debut in 2017 before returning in 2019. On both occasions, the Russian placed fifth. “It’s really exciting to be heading back to Abu Dhabi and playing in front of the fans there," Rublev said. "They really know their tennis and make a real difference. And, with the event at full capacity it’s going to be a great way to begin a busy 2022 season.” Rublev will arrive in the capital following another successful season on the ATP Tour. In addition to the title he won in Rotterdam, Rublev reached a further three finals - two of them Masters 1000 events, in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati. He still has the chance to add to his eight career titles when he competes in the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy next week. "We’ve raised the bar every year since the inception of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship and always strive to bring the best players in the world to Abu Dhabi," said John Lickrish, CEO, Flash Entertainment, the tournament owners. "Andrey’s confirmation means we now have five truly world-class players lined up for the exciting return of the Championship. Andrey has a great connection with the championship and has a strong following in the UAE so his return, to a full stadium, will undoubtedly create a lot of enthusiasm among tennis fans in the UAE and beyond.” After last year's championship was called off due to logistical complications of staging the tournament during the Covid-19 pandemic, it returns this year in front of a capacity crowd at Zayed Sports City's International Tennis Centre and will be held December 16-18. In line with the latest government guidelines, MWTC will welcome fans with green status on the Al Hosn app and a negative PCR test result with 96-hour validity across the three days of the tournament. MWTC is also accessible to international visitors after Abu Dhabi’s recent lifting of quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers. Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and Dh50 for children, and are available from <a href="http://ticketmaster.ae/" target="_blank">ticketmaster.ae</a> and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. In line with current protocols, measures will be in place within the stadium and throughout the Tennis Village to ensure the health and safety of fans, players and officials. More details are available on <a href="http://www.mubadalawtc.com/">www.mubadalawtc.com</a>