The first ATP and WTA tournaments of the 2019 season get started on Dec. 30 and 31, but big-name tennis begins a little earlier than that, with the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi, commencing on Dec. 27.

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The opening day there is set to include a match between Serena and Venus Williams, at the court where Serena first returned to tennis a year ago.

That Thursday will also feature Hyeon Chung, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov.

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Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, both have byes to Friday's semifinals.

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The final and third-place matches are scheduled to take place on Saturday, Dec. 29.

The tennis season comes at you fast, so a late-December look at these top players could prove both entertaining and insightful.