Saudi Arabia invited Janahi to compete in this year’s Al Theeb League. The team finished first in the Al Theeb League competition, held in Riyadh.
[Dubai, UAE – June 2026]: Eqvilent, a Dubai-based quantitative trading company, is supporting UAE national team padel player Fatma Abbas Janahi, who won Saudi Arabia’s Al Theeb League in Riyadh and is preparing to compete at the GCC Games in Doha. With Janahi, Eqvilent extends its athlete ambassador programme into padel, supporting employees who compete seriously alongside their work.
As a UAE national team padel athlete, Janahi has competed in racket sports since childhood. She represented the UAE in tennis from the age of eight to 18 before moving into padel in 2021.
Dubai Sports Council has described padel as one of the fastest-growing sports in the UAE and the region. The GCC Games in Doha, scheduled for 2026, include padel among the sports that women can participate in.
Janahi’s win signifies the rising popularity of padel in the Gulf, moving beyond its reputation as a social sport. The MENA region accounts for 10% of the global padel sports market. The UAE and Saudi Arabia lead the region, with over 60% of high-end gyms and gated communities integrating padel courts. For Eqvilent, the programme reflects a broader shift in how companies can support athletes by backing high-performance talent already connected to their own teams and culture.
“Eqvilent’s support helps me compete at a higher level and gain the regional and international experience I need to keep improving. I’m proud to represent the company through the values we share like discipline, performance and a genuine connection with the community,” said Fatma Abbas Janahi, Marketing Specialist at Eqvilent and UAE national team padel player.
The partnership reflects Eqvilent’s support for employees pursuing competitive sport alongside their professional careers. The company previously backed Mohamed Al Serkal, Marketing Specialist at Eqvilent’s Dubai headquarters and an accomplished dressage rider. Eqvilent is now extending the model to padel as the sport builds a stronger competitive base across the region.
“Fatma’s achievements reflect the kind of determination, focus and continuous self-development that strongly resonate with Eqvilent’s culture. We are proud to support team members who pursue excellence beyond their professional responsibilities and inspire others through their commitment and performance,” commented Stanislav Semenov, Co-Founder and CEO of Eqvilent.
For Janahi, the partnership also carries a wider message. Having spent most of her life in competitive sport, she sees padel as a way to encourage more women in the GCC to take up sport seriously and experience the physical and mental benefits of athletic participation.
Janahi will next travel with the UAE national team to Doha for the GCC Games, with further national and international tournaments planned for 2026.
About Eqvilent
Eqvilent is a top quantitative trading company, providing liquidity across dozens of global exchanges. The company specialises in high-frequency trading (HFT), executing over 20 million trades daily.
Founded in Dubai, with offices in London, Lisbon, Malta, and Mumbai, Eqvilent now employs more than 200 professionals worldwide. The firm leverages machine learning and other cutting-edge technologies to stay at the forefront of global algorithmic trading. This unique foundation creates a powerful synergy between groundbreaking research and precision-engineered execution.