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Amanda Anisimova will bid to crown her improbable redemption mission at the US Open today as world number one Aryna Sabalenka seeks to grab her final chance of the year to win a Grand Slam.Two months after suffering a catastrophic 6-0, 6-0 thrashing in the Wimbledon final, Anisimova has bounced back to stand on the brink of completing a fairytale comeback in New York. The 24-year-old eighth seed held her nerve to battle past Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals, winning 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in an instant classic that finished in the early hours Friday morning.For Anisimova, the win represented a personal triumph after the trauma of her drubbing by Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon in July. The American, who took an eight-month break from tennis in 2023 citing burnout and depression, says her success in New York is attributable to the steps she has taken to prioritise her mental health."Obviously, it served me well, and I'm really happy with the choice that I made," Anisimova said of her decision to step away from the sport. "It's clearly paying off now, and I feel like I have a whole new perspective when I step onto the court. Even on regular days or training days, I think I appreciate the process a lot more than I used to."That resilience was on full display in Thursday night's thriller with Osaka, when she banished any negative thoughts to claw her way into the final. "I could have easily said, 'Oh, she's playing better than me, and I can't really do anything,'" Anisimova said afterwards. "I really tried to find a way, any way I could to stay in the match, even though it was extremely tough."Anisimova will also head into today's final armed with the mental muscle memory of having beaten reigning US Open champion Sabalenka in six of their nine previous meetings. That winning record includes a defeat of Sabalenka in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, where she prevailed in another tense three-setter."We've had very, very tough matches," Anisimova said of Sabalenka. "But I think the standout one was probably Wimbledon. It was really a seesaw match, which is almost always the case when I play her."Sabalenka, who advanced to final with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat of American fourth seed Jessica Pegula, is bracing for another dogfight, admitting she still dwells on her Wimbledon defeat by Anisimova. "I have to trust myself, and I have to go after my shots," she said. "I felt like in that match at Wimby, I was doubting a lot my decisions, and that was the main thing that was bringing a lot of unforced errors. I gave her a lot of opportunities, and of course, she played incredible tennis, but I feel like I had my opportunities. I didn't use them."The 27-year-old from Belarus is also determined to avoid finishing her Grand Slam season empty-handed. The powerful right-hander was beaten in both the Australian and French Open finals this year before her Wimbledon exit, and is in no mood to let another chance to claim a fourth career Grand Slam singles title pass her by.That sense of steely determination was on display at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday as she fought back from a set down to squeeze past Pegula. "I badly wanted to give myself another opportunity, another final, and I want to prove to myself that I learned those tough lessons and I can do better in the finals," said Sabalenka, referencing this season's losses in Melbourne and Paris.Sabalenka is also aiming to achieve something that has become increasingly rare over the years in successfully defending the US Open. No woman has retained the title since Serena Williams won three in a row in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Asked earlier in the tournament for her thoughts on the fact that the last 11 US Open titles have been shared between 10 players, Sabalenka quipped: "My thought is to change it."

The ICC ONE Toastmasters Club, with a legacy of over 20 years, hosted its open house meeting with over 50 participants, including 24 first-time guests. Christopher Aleida, founder president M I Farid, Abhishek Mohanty, Deepikha Chandrasekhar Fernandes, Hany ZamZam, Mansoor Moideen, and club president Balakrishnan Karyot spoke.The meeting was also attended by senior leaders of Toastmasters Qatar.

The Gulf countries and the entire Middle East region are going through extraordinary times since the outbreak of open war between Iran and Israel in last June, noted several experts at a panel discussion.Organised by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs earlier this week, the discussion ‘ Rethinking Gulf Security Following the Iran- Israel War' brought four experts on the topic who delved deep into current developments and their implications. They felt that the outbreak of an open war between Iran and Israel in June has considerably intensified challenges to Gulf security.Sanam Vakil, director, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House said that the countries in the region are going through a period very much defined by geopolitical competition. She noted that there are a lot of questions about consistency in these countries' relationship with the United States and the reliability of US as a security partner.“Conflicts have doubled across the world, and we are, of course, seeing that in the region, but we don't have to look too far from the Middle East itself to see the devastating impact of a conflict. And multilateralism and the investment of the international community is not just stabilising conflicts. Settling conflicts is also proving to be ineffective. We see this very visibly in Gaza,” said Vakil.The panelists also noted that the region is confronting complicated questions including charting the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and Israel’s increasing incursions on Gaza, the West Bank, and the wider region.Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East Policy, International Institute for Strategic Studies noted that Israel represents and presents an objective threat to the security of the Arab countries.“There are multiple reasons why that is the case. Most certainly, Israel started a war that I would be fairly confident in saying that probably most or at least perhaps all of the Gulf States did not want to be at war. I think Israel actually presents more of a direct threat because of the fact that it seems to have embraced the view of the region as an open battleground. This has direct security destabilising spillover effects for the Arab and the Gulf States,” explained Alhasan.The panel also noted that diplomatic efforts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran have been significantly undermined by the “12-day war.”According to Yasmine Farouk, director, Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Project, International Crisis Group, the picture is much more complex and difficult to manage. “It is very clear that there is a gap in how the US sees the conflicts and this conflict in this region and how the Gulf countries see them. The Gulf countries see the conflicts of the region as interconnected,” she pointed out.Shahram Akbarzadeh, nonresident senior fellow, Middle East Council said that there is a deep distrust, especially among the leadership of the international system, and how the United States manages to utilise the system to its full advantage. The session was moderated by Adel Abdel Ghafar, senior fellow, Foreign Policy Programme director, Middle East Council.

HE the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammed bin Ali bin Mohamed al-Mannai attended the “AI and XR Sandbox Demo Open Day”, organised by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), through the Tasmu Innovation Lab.The event brought together government entities, startups, and partners from across the communication and information technology sector to showcase four proof-of-concept solutions, designed to address real-world challenges in healthcare, compliance, procurement, and smart-city mobility.The Sandbox Open Demo Day provided a safe and controlled environment for piloting, developing, and evaluating emerging technologies.The initiative aims to accelerate digital innovation while upholding the highest standards of safety and security.This approach aligns with the mission of the ministry to enable a resilient digital transformation and contributes directly to the Digital Agenda 2030 and Qatar National Vision 2030.As part of the initiative, participants from government entities and startups were given access to Vertex, Google Cloud’s artificial intelligence (AI) platform, along with mentorship and support from Deloitte AI Institute experts and Google specialists.The Extended Reality Sandbox provided participants with advanced augmented and virtual reality tools, a unified development portal, and intensive hands-on training from Deloitte Digital experts.This blend of theoretical and practical training enabled participants to transform their innovative concepts into viable 3D proof-of-concept solutions.The event showcased four advanced pilot proof-of-concept solutions, three AI-based solutions and one extended reality solution.The first was a secured X-ray image sharing tool, developed by participants from the Ministry of Public Health in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation and Sinaholz, which utilises AI to hide patient-identifying data from medical images, enabling safe data sharing among authorised entities while preserving privacy.The second was an electronic policy compliance analyser, developed by a team from the Ministry of Finance that automatically reviews policy and regulatory documents, comparing them against established standards to detect potential non-compliance and streamline governance processes.The third was a smart request-for-proposal generator that automates the creation of procurement requests, enhancing consistency, accelerating workflows, and reducing processing time, the proof-of-concept is the product of a collective effort from the MCIT, the Ministry of Culture, the General Authority of Customs, Communications Regulatory Authority, and RF{X}AI.The fourth, developed within the Extended Reality Sandbox, was an innovative parking design solution by Sinaholz aimed at reducing construction costs and risks, optimising space utilisation, and enhancing user experience through advanced digital tools for management and pre-booking.Commenting on the event, Reem al-Mansoori, the assistant undersecretary for Digital Industry Affairs at the MCIT, stated: “The launch of the first cohort of proof-of-concept solutions under the Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality Sandbox Initiative marks a significant step forward in advancing Qatar’s digital innovation ecosystem.”"Participating teams successfully transformed their ideas into practical proof-of-concept solutions, demonstrating the vast potential of emerging technologies in addressing real-world challenges,” she said. “The sandboxes provide a secure environment to pilot and refine digital solutions before large-scale deployment, reducing risks and improving implementation quality.”"Furthermore, they serve as a platform to build bridges of collaboration between government entities, innovators, startups, and global partners,” al-Mansoori added. “This inaugural experience has established a pioneering model for collaboration, setting the foundation for a new phase of digital innovation that enhances service delivery, drives economic diversification, and accelerates the implementation of the Digital Agenda 2030.”Throughout this initiative, the MCIT’s Tasmu Innovation Lab has worked on bringing global expertise into Qatar’s digital innovation ecosystem by engaging international technology experts to collaborate with local talents.The Sandbox initiative stands out as a pioneering platform through which the ministry is driving national digital transformation, in line with the pillars of the Digital Agenda 2030, by providing a clear and responsible pathway for piloting, scaling, and adopting emerging technologies, a statement added.

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the US Open semi-finals Tuesday, demolishing Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-2 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium.Alcaraz has yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he fired off 28 winners and never faced a break point.Lehecka is one of the few players to beat Alcaraz this season, winning in the Doha quarter-finals, but was outclassed this time around and could only watch helplessly as the Spaniard’s forehand winner zipped by on match point.Alcaraz will play the winner of the match later between 24-times major winner Novak Djokovic and American fourth seed Taylor Fritz.Pegula cruises past Krejcikova into US Open semisAmerican Jessica Pegula reached her second straight US Open semi-final with a clinical 6-3 6-3 win over twice Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova Tuesday.Fourth-ranked Pegula had a dreadful run-up to the year’s final major but has flipped the script in New York, where she has yet to drop a set and fired off 17 winners to beat the unseeded Czech.Krejcikova recovered from injuries earlier this year and saved eight match points in a fourth-round thriller to reach the final eight but ran out of gas against the 2024 runner-up.Pegula will face the winner of the match between the defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova.“I feel like I’m just really comfortable,” said Pegula. “It’s pretty crazy... 10 years ago I never thought I’d be good at this (and reach the final stages of a Slam) but I guess I am.”Krejcikova missed an overhead shot in the second game and was seen repeatedly rubbing her eyes as she struggled to deal with fatigue following two bruising back-to-back three-set matches, surrendering her serve with a double fault.She broke back when Pegula sent a backhand into the net in the seventh game but Krejcikova immediately handed the advantage back to the American by dropping her serve again.Pegula broke the Czech to love with a backhand winner down the line in the opening game of the second set.Playing in her first US Open quarter-final in four years, Krejcikova appeared to be heading for a swift defeat as she fell behind 4-1 with Pegula having secured the double break after the errors kept flying off her Czech rival’s racket.Although Krejcikova showed some signs of life as she regained one of the breaks in the sixth game, the effort only delayed the inevitable.Two double faults in the final game capped a miserable day for Krejcikova, while a beaming Pegula soaked in the roaring cheers from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd after wrapping up the lopsided win.Ruthless Sinner routs Bublik under the lightsDefending champion Jannik Sinner said he enjoyed the vibe of playing under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights after he continued his hardcourt Grand Slam run by hammering 23rd seed Alexander Bublik on Monday to make the US Open quarter-finals.The Italian came into the match on Labour Day seeking his 25th straight major match win on his preferred surface and never looked in danger against a tricky rival, bolting out of the blocks to win 6-1 6-1 6-1 on his night session debut this year.“It’s always special to go on Ashe to play,” Sinner said.“Night matches, they’re a bit different because there’s a bit more attention, I feel. It’s a different vibe, also around the court. It’s very loud. It’s also different to play.“It was the first time for me this year. It was nice. You have the good and the bad if you play in the evening. It’s very special and you feel very privileged to step onto court in the night on the biggest court we have.”A mere 81 minutes after the clash began, Sinner was back in the locker room after gaining revenge for a shock defeat by Bublik in the Halle final, his only loss to a player not named Carlos Alcaraz this year.“We know each other well. We’ve had some tough battles this year so we know each other a bit better,” top seed Sinner said. “He had a tough match last time (against Tommy Paul), finishing late. He didn’t serve as well as he does. I broke him in every set and it gave me the confidence to play well.”A double break helped Sinner build a 4-0 lead before Bublik could even get on the board, and the dominant 24-year-old chased down a drop shot to fire home a deep backhand winner that wrapped up the opening set with another break.Bublik’s attempts to disrupt Sinner’s rhythm with more drop shots proved futile but it was his service errors that left him trailing by two sets, before Sinner wheeled away to his eighth straight major quarter-final.Up next is a meeting with compatriot Lorenzo Musetti and Sinner said it would be a great occasion for Italian tennis.“It’s great to see. Italian tennis is in great form. We have so many players and different game styles,” he said. “Lorenzo is one of the biggest talents we have in our sport. I’m looking forward to this one. From an Italian point of view, it’s great to have for sure one Italian player in the semis. “I know that there are a lot of Italian players in the crowd. It makes everything special.”

Jannik Sinner launched the defence of his US Open title Tuesday with a ruthless 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 win over Czech world number 89 Vit Kopriva.Top-ranked Sinner needed just an hour and 38 minutes to dispatch the 28-year-old Kopriva, who was appearing in the main draw at Flushing Meadows for the first time."It feels great to be back here. Obviously it's a very special tournament," said Sinner.The Italian is trying to become the first man to repeat as US Open champion since Roger Federer won five in a row from 2004-2008.It is the longest run without a successful men's title defence of any Grand Slam tournament in the Open era.Sinner, 24, next plays Alexei Popyrin or Emil Ruusuvuori for a place in the third round.He appeared to be fully recovered from the illness that forced him to retire against Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open final last week."I'm very happy that I'm healthy again," Sinner said after a clinical display in which he broke Kopriva seven times."We did our best to be in the best possible shape here. I'm very happy about today's performance.""I have amazing memories (from last year). Every year is different. You come here starting this tournament hopefully in the best possible way, which I did."Sinner has won two of this season's three Grand Slams, the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while also reaching the final of the French Open where he held three championship points before losing to Alcaraz in a fifth-set tie-break.