Dubai Tennis Championships

Dubai Tennis Championships
Tournament information
TourATP Tour
WTA Tour
Founded1993; 31 years ago (1993)
LocationDubai
United Arab Emirates
VenueAviation Club Tennis Centre
SurfaceHard – outdoors
WebsiteOfficial website
Current champions (2024)
Men's singlesFrance Ugo Humbert
Women's singlesItaly Jasmine Paolini
Men's doublesNetherlands Tallon Griekspoor
Germany Jan-Lennard Struff
Women's doublesAustralia Storm Hunter
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková
ATP Tour
CategoryATP Tour 500
Draw32S / 24Q / 16D
Prize moneyUS$2,941,785 (2024)
WTA Tour
CategoryWTA 1000
Draw56S / 32Q / 28D
Prize moneyUS$3,211,715 (2024)

The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships and the Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Championships) is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on outdoor hardcourts.

The tournament takes place at the end of February and organizes a men's and women's event. The tournament takes place under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. In 2001 the ATP upgraded the tournament from an ATP 250 level to the more prestigious ATP 500 level tournament. On the WTA Tour, it alternated yearly between a WTA 1000 level tournament and a WTA 500 level tournament, until 2024, when it remained a WTA 1000 event from the prior year. Prior to the 1990s there was an annual Dubai Tennis Championship played at the British Embassy.

The Dubai Tennis Championships was the third tournament in pro tennis history to award equal prize money for both men and women, until 2021.[citation needed]

The courts usually have a medium-fast speed considered to be similar in speed to the Shanghai and Swiss Indoor (Basel) courts.[citation needed]

History

[edit]
The 2014 Dubai Tennis Championships semifinal featuring Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

The Dubai Tennis Championships debuted at the Aviation Club in 1993 as an ATP 250 tournament.[1] At the time there was no formal stadium and the tournament was hosted on hardcourts surrounded by temporary scaffold seating to host a total of 3000 viewers across all courts.[1]

In 1996, the Dubai Tennis Championships took place at the newly erected Dubai Tennis Stadium at the Aviation Club. The construction of the Dubai Tennis Stadium also led to the development of various food & beverage entertainment locations in and around the stadium base, like the Irish and Century Villages. In 2012, a 293-bedroom hotel was constructed on-site that hosts many of the players and officials during the 2 week event.

The inaugural ATP men's tournament was won by Karel Nováček in 1993 who was ranked world number 23 at the time. The inaugural WTA women's tournament debuted in 2001 as a Premier tournament and was won by Martina Hingis.

For five years, Swiss Roger Federer, on the men's side, and Belgian Justine Henin, on the women's side, dominated the singles' tournaments. Between 2003 and 2007, Federer and Henin each won the singles title four times. However, in 2008, neither player managed to reach the finals; Andy Roddick and Elena Dementieva became the new champions.

In 2005, the Dubai Tennis Championships implemented equal prize money policy[2] becoming the third professional tennis event to do so after the US Open and Australian Open.

2009 Shahar Pe'er visa controversy

[edit]

In February 2009, Israeli player Shahar Pe'er was denied an entry visa by the United Arab Emirates, a country that did not have diplomatic relations with Israel at the time. Tournament director Salah Tahlak said that Pe'er was refused on the grounds that her appearance could incite anger in the Arab country, after she had already faced protests earlier at the ASB Classic over the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict.[3] A number of top-seeded players, among them Venus Williams,[4] condemned the action not to grant Pe'er a visa.

In response, the Dubai Tennis Championship was fined a record US$300,000. The fine was appealed by DTC, but the WTA Tour Board rejected the appeal.[5] Pe'er was awarded a guarantee to enter the next (2010) edition of the event, plus US$44,250, an amount equal to the average prize money she earned per tournament in 2008.[6] A number of highly ranked tennis players, including 2008 winner Andy Roddick, pulled out of the men's event (ATP 500 Dubai) which was scheduled to take place the week after the women's event. As a result, the UAE issued Israeli Andy Ram a visa for the men's tournament.[7]

Past finals

[edit]
Dubai Tennis Championships in 2006

In the men's singles, Roger Federer (winner in 2003–05, 2007, 2012, 2014–15, 2019, runner-up in 2006, 2011) holds the records for most titles (eight), most finals (ten), and most consecutive titles (three), sharing the last record with Novak Djokovic (winner in 2009–11, 2013, 2020, runner-up in 2015). In the women's singles, Justine Henin (2003–04, 2006–07) holds the record for most titles (four) and shares with Venus Williams (2009–10, 2014) and Elina Svitolina (2017–18) the record for most consecutive titles (two). In men's doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi (1998, 2004, 2008, 2012–13) has won the most overall titles (five), and co-holds with Grant Connell (1995–96) the record for most consecutive titles (two). In women's doubles, Liezel Huber (2007–09, 2011–12) took the most titles (five) and, alongside partner Cara Black (2007–09), the most back-to-back titles (three).

Men's singles

[edit]
Roger Federer (winner in 2003–05, 2007, 2012, 2014–15, 2019, runner-up in 2006, 2011) holds all records in Dubai, for most titles (eight), most finals (ten), most consecutive titles (three) and most consecutive finals (five).
Novak Djokovic (winner in 2009–11, 2013, 2020, runner-up in 2015) shares with Federer the record for most consecutive titles (three).
Year Champion Runner-up Score
↓  ATP Tour 250[a]  ↓
1993 Czech Republic Karel Nováček France Fabrice Santoro 6–4, 7–5
1994 Sweden Magnus Gustafsson Spain Sergi Bruguera 6–4, 6–2
1995 South Africa Wayne Ferreira Italy Andrea Gaudenzi 6–3, 6–3
1996 Croatia Goran Ivanišević Spain Albert Costa 6–4, 6–3
1997 Austria Thomas Muster Croatia Goran Ivanišević 7–5, 7–6(7–3)
1998 Spain Àlex Corretja Spain Félix Mantilla 7–6(7–0), 6–1
1999 France Jérôme Golmard Germany Nicolas Kiefer 6–4, 6–2
2000 Germany Nicolas Kiefer Spain Juan Carlos Ferrero 7–5, 4–6, 6–3
↓  ATP Tour 500[b]  ↓
2001 Spain Juan Carlos Ferrero Russia Marat Safin 6–2, 3–1 Ret.
2002 France Fabrice Santoro Morocco Younes El Aynaoui 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
2003 Switzerland Roger Federer Czech Republic Jiří Novák 6–1, 7–6(7–2)
2004 Switzerland Roger Federer (2) Spain Feliciano López 4–6, 6–1, 6–2
2005 Switzerland Roger Federer (3) Croatia Ivan Ljubičić 6–1, 6–7(6–8), 6–3
2006 Spain Rafael Nadal Switzerland Roger Federer 2–6, 6–4, 6–4
2007 Switzerland Roger Federer (4) Russia Mikhail Youzhny 6–4, 6–3
2008 United States Andy Roddick Spain Feliciano López 6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–2
2009 Serbia Novak Djokovic Spain David Ferrer 7–5, 6–3
2010 Serbia Novak Djokovic (2) Russia Mikhail Youzhny 7–5, 5–7, 6–3
2011 Serbia Novak Djokovic (3) Switzerland Roger Federer 6–3, 6–3
2012 Switzerland Roger Federer (5) United Kingdom Andy Murray 7–5, 6–4
2013 Serbia Novak Djokovic (4) Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 7–5, 6–3
2014 Switzerland Roger Federer (6) Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 3–6, 6–4, 6–3
2015 Switzerland Roger Federer (7) Serbia Novak Djokovic 6–3, 7–5
2016 Switzerland Stan Wawrinka Cyprus Marcos Baghdatis 6–4, 7–6(15–13)
2017 United Kingdom Andy Murray Spain Fernando Verdasco 6–3, 6–2
2018 Spain Roberto Bautista Agut France Lucas Pouille 6–3, 6–4
2019 Switzerland Roger Federer (8) Greece Stefanos Tsitsipas 6–4, 6–4
2020 Serbia Novak Djokovic (5) Greece Stefanos Tsitsipas 6–3, 6–4
2021 Russia Aslan Karatsev South Africa Lloyd Harris 6–3, 6–2
2022 Russia Andrey Rublev Czech Republic Jiří Veselý 6–3, 6–4
2023 Daniil Medvedev Andrey Rublev 6–2, 6–2
2024 France Ugo Humbert Kazakhstan Alexander Bublik 6–4, 6–3

Women's singles

[edit]
Justine Henin (2003–04, 2006–07) collected a record total of four singles titles in Dubai.
Former world No. 1 Simona Halep clinched the title in Dubai in 2015 and 2020.
Year Champion Runner-up Score
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2001 Switzerland Martina Hingis France Nathalie Tauziat 6–4, 6–4
2002 France Amélie Mauresmo France Sandrine Testud 6–4, 7–6(7–3)
2003 Belgium Justine Henin-Hardenne United States Monica Seles 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–5
2004 Belgium Justine Henin-Hardenne (2) Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova 7–6(7–3), 6–3
2005 United States Lindsay Davenport Serbia and Montenegro Jelena Janković 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
2006 Belgium Justine Henin-Hardenne (3) Russia Maria Sharapova 7–5, 6–2
2007 Belgium Justine Henin (4) France Amélie Mauresmo 6–4, 7–5
2008 Russia Elena Dementieva Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
↓  Premier 5 tournament   ↓
2009 United States Venus Williams France Virginie Razzano 6–4, 6–2
2010 United States Venus Williams (2) Belarus Victoria Azarenka 6–3, 7–5
2011 Denmark Caroline Wozniacki Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–1, 6–3
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2012 Poland Agnieszka Radwańska Germany Julia Görges 7–5, 6–4
2013 Czech Republic Petra Kvitová Italy Sara Errani 6–2, 1–6, 6–1
2014 United States Venus Williams (3) France Alizé Cornet 6–3, 6–0
↓  Premier 5 tournament   ↓
2015 Romania Simona Halep Czech Republic Karolína Plíšková 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2016 Italy Sara Errani Czech Republic Barbora Strýcová 6–0, 6–2
↓  Premier 5 tournament   ↓
2017 Ukraine Elina Svitolina Denmark Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 6–2
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2018 Ukraine Elina Svitolina (2) Russia Daria Kasatkina 6–4, 6–0
↓  Premier 5 tournament   ↓
2019 Switzerland Belinda Bencic Czech Republic Petra Kvitová 6–3, 1–6, 6–2
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2020 Romania Simona Halep (2) Kazakhstan Elena Rybakina 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
↓  WTA 1000 tournament   ↓
2021 Spain Garbiñe Muguruza Czech Republic Barbora Krejčíková 7–6(8–6), 6–3
↓  WTA 500 tournament   ↓
2022 Latvia Jeļena Ostapenko Russia Veronika Kudermetova 6–0, 6–4
↓  WTA 1000 tournament   ↓
2023 Czech Republic Barbora Krejčíková Poland Iga Świątek 6–4, 6–2
2024 Italy Jasmine Paolini Anna Kalinskaya 4–6, 7–5, 7–5

Men's doubles

[edit]
Mahesh Bhupathi (1998, 2004, 2008, 2012–13) took five doubles titles at the tournament, each time with a different partner.
Year Champions Runners-up Score
↓  ATP Tour 250[a]  ↓
1993 Australia John Fitzgerald
Sweden Anders Järryd
Canada Grant Connell
United States Patrick Galbraith
6–2, 6–1
1994 Australia Todd Woodbridge
Australia Mark Woodforde
Australia Darren Cahill
Australia John Fitzgerald
6–7, 6–4, 6–2
1995 Canada Grant Connell
United States Patrick Galbraith
Spain Tomás Carbonell
Spain Francisco Roig
6–2, 4–6, 6–3
1996 Canada Grant Connell (2)
Zimbabwe Byron Black
Czech Republic Karel Nováček
Czech Republic Jiří Novák
6–0, 6–1
1997 Netherlands Sander Groen
Croatia Goran Ivanišević
Australia Sandon Stolle
Czech Republic Cyril Suk
7–6, 6–3
1998 India Mahesh Bhupathi
India Leander Paes
United States Donald Johnson
United States Francisco Montana
6–2, 7–5
1999 Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Australia Sandon Stolle
South Africa David Adams
South Africa John-Laffnie de Jager
4–6, 6–1, 6–4
2000 Czech Republic Jiří Novák
Czech Republic David Rikl
South Africa Robbie Koenig
Australia Peter Tramacchi
6–2, 7–5
↓  ATP Tour 500[b]  ↓
2001 Australia Joshua Eagle
Australia Sandon Stolle (2)
Canada Daniel Nestor
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–4
2002 The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor
Australia Joshua Eagle
Australia Sandon Stolle
3–6, 6–3, [13–11]
2003 India Leander Paes
Czech Republic David Rikl (2)
Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
6–3, 6–0
2004 India Mahesh Bhupathi (2)
France Fabrice Santoro
Sweden Jonas Björkman
India Leander Paes
6–2, 4–6, 6–4
2005 Czech Republic Martin Damm
Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek
Sweden Jonas Björkman
France Fabrice Santoro
6–2, 6–4
2006 Australia Paul Hanley
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor
1–6, 6–2, [10–1]
2007 France Fabrice Santoro (2)
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
India Mahesh Bhupathi
Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek
7–5, 6–7(3–7), [10–7]
2008 India Mahesh Bhupathi (3)
The Bahamas Mark Knowles (2)
Czech Republic Martin Damm
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
7–5, 7–6(9–7)
2009 South Africa Rik de Voest
Russia Dmitry Tursunov
Czech Republic Martin Damm
Sweden Robert Lindstedt
4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
2010 Sweden Simon Aspelin
Australia Paul Hanley
Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý
India Leander Paes
6–2, 6–3
2011 Ukraine Sergiy Stakhovsky
Russia Mikhail Youzhny
France Jérémy Chardy
Spain Feliciano López
4–6, 6–3, [10–3]
2012 India Mahesh Bhupathi (4)
India Rohan Bopanna
Poland Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Poland Marcin Matkowski
6–4, 3–6, [10–5]
2013 India Mahesh Bhupathi (5)
France Michaël Llodra
Sweden Robert Lindstedt
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
7–6(8–6), 7–6(8–6)
2014 India Rohan Bopanna (2)
Pakistan Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Canada Daniel Nestor
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–3
2015 India Rohan Bopanna (3)
Canada Daniel Nestor (2)
Pakistan Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–1
2016 Italy Simone Bolelli
Italy Andreas Seppi
Spain Feliciano López
Spain Marc López
6–2, 3–6, [14–12]
2017 Netherlands Jean-Julien Rojer
Romania Horia Tecău
India Rohan Bopanna
Poland Marcin Matkowski
4–6, 6–3, [10–3]
2018 Netherlands Jean-Julien Rojer (2)
Romania Horia Tecău (2)
United States James Cerretani
India Leander Paes
6–2, 7–6(7–2)
2019 United States Rajeev Ram
United Kingdom Joe Salisbury
Japan Ben McLachlan
Germany Jan-Lennard Struff
7–6(7–4), 6–3
2020 Australia John Peers
New Zealand Michael Venus
South Africa Raven Klaasen
Austria Oliver Marach
6–3, 6–2
2021 Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal
Colombia Robert Farah
Croatia Nikola Mektić
Croatia Mate Pavić
7–6(7–0), 7–6(7–4)
2022 Germany Tim Pütz
New Zealand Michael Venus
Croatia Nikola Mektić
Croatia Mate Pavić
6–3, 6–7(5–7), [16–14]
2023 United States Maxime Cressy
France Fabrice Martin
United Kingdom Lloyd Glasspool
Finland Harri Heliövaara
7–6(7–2), 6–4
2024 Netherlands Tallon Griekspoor
Germany Jan-Lennard Struff
Croatia Ivan Dodig
United States Austin Krajicek
6–4, 4–6, [10–6]

Women's doubles

[edit]
Liezel Huber (2007–09, 2011–12) is the most successful player in women's doubles, with five titles in Dubai.
Year Champions Runners-up Score
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2001 Indonesia Yayuk Basuki
Netherlands Caroline Vis
Sweden Åsa Svensson
Slovakia Karina Habšudová
6–0, 4–6, 6–2
2002 Germany Barbara Rittner
Venezuela María Vento-Kabchi
France Sandrine Testud
Italy Roberta Vinci
6–3, 6–2
2003 Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
United States Martina Navratilova
Zimbabwe Cara Black
Russia Elena Likhovtseva
6–3, 7–6(9–7)
2004 Slovakia Janette Husárová
Spain Conchita Martínez
Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
Russia Elena Likhovtseva
6–0, 1–6, 6–3
2005 Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual
Argentina Paola Suárez
Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
Australia Alicia Molik
6–7(7–9), 6–2, 6–1
2006 Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Italy Francesca Schiavone
Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
Russia Nadia Petrova
3–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–3
2007 Zimbabwe Cara Black
United States Liezel Huber
Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
Australia Alicia Molik
7–6(8–6), 6–4
2008 Zimbabwe Cara Black (2)
United States Liezel Huber (2)
China Zheng Jie
China Yan Zi
7–5, 6–2
↓  Premier 5 tournament   ↓
2009 Zimbabwe Cara Black (3)
United States Liezel Huber (3)
Russia Maria Kirilenko
Poland Agnieszka Radwańska
6–3, 6–3
2010 Spain Nuria Llagostera Vives
Spain María José Martínez Sánchez
Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
7–6(7–5), 6–4
2011 United States Liezel Huber (4)
Spain María José Martínez Sánchez (2)
Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
7–6(7–5), 6–3
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2012 United States Liezel Huber (5)
United States Lisa Raymond
India Sania Mirza
Russia Elena Vesnina
6–2, 6–1
2013 United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands
India Sania Mirza
Russia Nadia Petrova
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
6–4, 2–6, [10–7]
2014 Russia Alla Kudryavtseva
Australia Anastasia Rodionova
United States Raquel Kops-Jones
United States Abigail Spears
6–2, 5–7, [10–8]
↓  Premier 5 tournament   ↓
2015 Hungary Tímea Babos
France Kristina Mladenovic
Spain Garbiñe Muguruza
Spain Carla Suárez Navarro
6–3, 6–2
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2016 Chinese Taipei Chuang Chia-jung
Croatia Darija Jurak
France Caroline Garcia
France Kristina Mladenovic
6–4, 6–4
↓  Premier 5 tournament   ↓
2017 Russia Ekaterina Makarova
Russia Elena Vesnina
Czech Republic Andrea Hlaváčková
China Peng Shuai
6–2, 4–6, [10–7]
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2018 Chinese Taipei Chan Hao-ching
China Yang Zhaoxuan
Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei

China Peng Shuai

4–6, 6–2, [10–6]
↓  Premier 5 tournament   ↓
2019 Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei
Czech Republic Barbora Strýcová
Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká
Russia Ekaterina Makarova
6–4, 6–4
↓  Premier tournament   ↓
2020 Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei (2)
Czech Republic Barbora Strýcová (2)
Czech Republic Barbora Krejčíková
China Zheng Saisai
7–5, 3–6, [10–5]
↓  WTA 1000 tournament   ↓
2021 Chile Alexa Guarachi
Croatia Darija Jurak (2)
China Xu Yifan
China Yang Zhaoxuan
6–0, 6–3
↓  WTA 500 tournament   ↓
2022 Russia Veronika Kudermetova
Belgium Elise Mertens
Ukraine Lyudmyla Kichenok
Latvia Jeļena Ostapenko
6–1, 6–3
↓  WTA 1000 tournament   ↓
2023 Veronika Kudermetova (2)
Liudmila Samsonova
Chinese Taipei Chan Hao-ching
Chinese Taipei Latisha Chan
6–4, 6–7(4–7), [10–1]
2024 Australia Storm Hunter
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková
United States Nicole Melichar-Martinez
Australia Ellen Perez
6–4, 6–2

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Known as World Series from 1990 till 1999. International Series from 2000 till 2008.
  2. ^ a b Known as International Series Gold from 2000 till 2008.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Scaffold stands, creaking boards, and wrong-facing courts: The inaugural Dubai Tennis Championships". The National. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  2. ^ "Dubaï, nouveau hub du sport mondial". Le Temps (in French). Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  3. ^ "Dubai faces censure over Peer ban". BBC Sport. 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
  4. ^ Mondays With Bob Greene: We do not wish to politicize sports Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242212395267&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Dubai given record fine over Peer". BBC News. February 20, 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  7. ^ "WTA fines Dubai; Roddick withdraws". ESPN. 20 February 2009.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Kitzbühel
ATP International Series Tournament of the Year
1997
Succeeded by
Preceded by Favorite WTA Tier I – II Tournament
2001, 2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Kitzbühel
Acapulco
ATP World Tour 500 Tournament of the Year
20032006
20082014
Succeeded by

25°14′34.33″N 55°20′33″E / 25.2428694°N 55.34250°E / 25.2428694; 55.34250