Sharapova, Djokovic and Nadal kick off Mubadala in the sand

Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and more top talent have made their way to Abu Dhabi for the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.  On Thursday, the trio took over Saadiyat Island's white sandy beaches.

They competed in a challenge, which included trying to knock down seven giant letters spelling out "The Best." Sharapova was the first to send a letter to the ground, inspiring the rest of the group to hit all the letters before running out of the 36 balls allotted.

The stars hopped in a golf cart as their chosen transport.

Sharapova, who was originally set to face Amanda Anisimova, took on Alja Tomljanovic for the first time on Thursday. The five-time Grand Slam champion would beat the Australian, 6-4, 7-5.

Nadal and Djokovic are tied with four Mubadala championships each. Nadal will start his campaign against Karen Khachanov and Djokovic will face Stefanos Tsitsipas, who he defeated convincingly in straight sets at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris.