Chance for Serena to serenade UAE fans at Dubai Duty Free Championship is lost

Had she not withdrawn, this would have been another opportunity for UAE fans to see the legend action, with the Dubai title one of the few yet to find its way into her trophy ­cabinet.

Serena Williams has pulled out citing a respiratory illness. William West / AFP

The fans will be disappointed, but not as much as the ­organisers.

The news that Serena Williams had to pull out of this week's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday because of a respiratory illness has left the ladies' event without its star attraction.

That Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard was joining her on the sidelines will have taken a little more shine off a tournament that, for some reason, often appears to sneak up on the public without much fanfare.

Despite consistently attracting some of the world’s best players – and it is true that its closing days are usually sold out – the ladies competition at Dubai’s Aviation Club remains a slow burner, at least compared to the men’s event.

Invariably, the arrival of Roger Federer and co in Dubai a week later tends to attract bigger crowds, and more attention, than the ladies event.

It is a shame and, for the city’s residents, often a wasted ­opportunity.

Perhaps the UAE public have become spoilt with the choice of sporting events at this time of year.

Still, few tournaments attract the top talent in any field like Dubai does. Since its first staging in 2001 (the men’s began in 1993), the ladies’ singles competition list of winners has included Martina Hingis, Amelie Mauresmo, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Caroline Wozniacki, Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams.

The weather, too, is consistently glorious, making it one of the more attractive outdoor events of the year.

Above all is just how accessible the event is.

You can wander into the stadium and purchase front row seats at your leisure in the early stages of the tournament.

Such luxury is certainly nothing to take for granted with tournaments that attract the world’s top-ranked players.

At Wimbledon, for one example, people will queue for hours to get a glimpse of any sort of action, even in the tournament’s early days. At the US Open you have to pay top dollar for a seat.

The Dubai Duty Free Championships have a long way to go before they can be compared with grand slam events, but therein lies their appeal and greatest strength – it is an accessible event that attracts the world’s finest tennis players.

Williams’s withdrawal is a setback as she is clearly the greatest player of this era, having won her 19th major title last month in Australia.

This would have been another opportunity for tennis fans in this country to catch a glimpse of a legend in action, perhaps still at the peak of her powers, with the Dubai title one of the few yet to find its way into her trophy ­cabinet.

But as she approaches 34, there are fewer appearances ahead of her than behind her.

Yet even without the world No 1’s presence, there is more than enough stardust to attract tennis fans to Garhoud.

While Serena may never get the chance to win in Dubai, 34-year-old sister Venus is the defending champion, last year’s title coming after wins in 2009 and 2010.

She may not be the player she was at her peak, but having climbed to No 11 in the world rankings, she still deserves as much support as her more successful sister.

This is a player who has won seven grand slam titles, been a world No 1 and is considered one of the games finest.

The world No 3 to No 5 in Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki are all in Dubai, too, so while Dubai will miss Serena, there is no doubt the event will do fine without her over the next week.

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