Dubai Duty Free gets party going with Pre-Wimbledon bash

With the Great British Summer in as full a flow as is ever likely  (no rain outside Moodie HQ here in London for at least 24 hours), the world’s greatest tennis players are currently serving, smashing and in some cases grunting their way through the Wimbledon Championships just down the road, writes Rahul Odedra.

Wimbledon may have been the theme but there wasn’t a ball boy in sight last week when I attended the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Pre-Wimbledon Party in London, presented by Dubai Duty Free, with most of the top female players glamming up for this buzzing pre-tournament soiree.

The world’s leading travel retailer (at a single airport) has been the main sponsor of the event for the past two years and it was attended by a veritable who’s who of the tennis world.

Among those lining up on the red carpet at The Roof Gardens in Kensington were reigning Wimbledon champion Serena Williams and the rest of the ‘Big Four’: Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska.

With the eyes of the British and global press on the party – images from it were featured heavily across the national papers the next day – the event was also particularly special for the WTA as this year it celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Dubai Duty Free stepped up to the occasion by handing over a special gift: a replica of the trophy awarded at the annual Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

As the company approaches its own landmark anniversary – December 20 will mark 30 years since it first opened for business – the evening was a timely reminder of the indelible mark Dubai Duty Free has made on the world of sport, as well as travel retailing.

In addition to the tennis tournament in the emirate – twice voted by players as the WTA’s Premier Tournament Of The Year – Dubai Duty Free has long been associated with some of the world’s top events in golf, powerboat racing, snooker and, most recently, darts.

And of course there is also its close association with the sport of kings. horse racing, with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby coming up this weekend [look out for a special ‘Moodie Tipster’ pre-race Blog coming soon].

Our thanks to Colm McLoughlin and his team for a great night. No doubt the party atmosphere from Kensington will roll on across the Irish Sea to The Curragh.