Tennis: ATP confirms ‘small number of players’ stranded in Dubai due to war in Middle East

Two days after the start of the war in the Middle East, a “small number” of ATP circuit players remain stranded in Dubai, the ATP said, while the Emirati city has been targeted daily since Saturday by Iranian missiles and drones. “The health, safety and well-being of our players, their team and tournament staff” ATP 500 in Dubai, which ended on Saturday, “is our priority,” assures the ATP in a press release published Monday on the social network X.

“We are able to confirm that a small number of players and their team members are still in Dubai. They are accommodated in the official tournament hotels and we are in direct communication with the people concerned,” develops the main men’s professional tennis circuit. Flights will resume on a “limited” basis Monday evening from Dubai airports, their operator announced Monday in a press release.

Winner of the doubles alongside Briton Henry Patten and stuck in Dubai, Finnish Harri Heliövaara recalled on his blog on Sunday that “the airspace of most of the region was closed” in reaction to Iranian retaliatory fire.

More minor tournaments planned in the Middle East

Since Saturday morning, “no departure has been possible from Dubai airport and as a result, the finalists of the singles tournament and a few other doubles players are stuck in Dubai. This is also the case for ATP staff: referees, physiotherapists…” To which must be added “the coaches, other members of the team or the family” of the players, “that is to say around thirty people in total”, according to Harri Heliövaara.

Targeted since Saturday by American and Israeli strikes, Iran responded by sending drones and missiles to several countries in the region, including the United Arab Emirates. Despite the numerous explosions heard in Dubai since the start of the war, the final of the doubles tournament was played on Saturday and the trophy ceremony was maintained for the singles tournament, won without playing by Daniil Medvedev after the withdrawal of Tallon Griekspoor.

The ATP 500 in Dubai was the last in a series of ATP and WTA (women’s circuit) tournaments in the Middle East, before the start of the Masters and WTA 1000 in Indian Wells on Wednesday. Challenger and ITF tournaments, at the second and third levels of the professional circuit, however, remain scheduled in Fujairah (northeast of the Emirates) in the coming days. Asked on Monday by AFP to know if these tournaments would be maintained, neither the ATP nor the ITF reacted immediately.