Dubai Tennis Championships

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.

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Tournament information
TourATP Tour
WTA Tour
Founded1993 (1993)
LocationDubai
United Arab Emirates
VenueAviation Club Tennis Centre
SurfaceHard - outdoors
WebsiteOfficial website
Current champions (2020)
Men's singles Novak Djokovic
Women's singles Simona Halep
Men's doubles John Peers / Michael Venus
Women's doubles Hsieh Su-wei / Barbora Strýcová
ATP World Tour
CategoryATP Tour 500
Draw32S / 16Q / 16D
Prize moneyUS$2,950,420 (2020)
WTA Tour
CategoryWTA Premier
Draw30S / 48Q / 28D
Prize moneyUS$2,908,770 (2020)

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 a 250 level to a more prestigious 500 level tournament. Prior to the 1990s there was an annual Dubai Tennis Championship played at the British Embassy.

The Dubai Tennis Championships is the third tournament in pro tennis history to award equal prize money for both men and women.

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

History

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. Currently, the reigning champions are Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep.

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

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

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, 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

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
1993 Karel Nováček Fabrice Santoro6–4, 7–5
1994 Magnus Gustafsson Sergi Bruguera6–4, 6–2
1995 Wayne Ferreira Andrea Gaudenzi6–3, 6–3
1996 Goran Ivanišević Albert Costa6–4, 6–3
1997 Thomas Muster Goran Ivanišević7–5, 7–6(7–3)
1998 Àlex Corretja Félix Mantilla7–6(7–0), 6–1
1999 Jérôme Golmard Nicolas Kiefer6–4, 6–2
2000 Nicolas Kiefer Juan Carlos Ferrero7–5, 4–6, 6–3
2001 Juan Carlos Ferrero Marat Safin6–2, 3–1 retired
2002 Fabrice Santoro Younes El Aynaoui6–4, 3–6, 6–3
2003 Roger Federer Jiří Novák6–1, 7–6(7–2)
2004 Roger Federer (2) Feliciano López4–6, 6–1, 6–2
2005 Roger Federer (3) Ivan Ljubičić6–1, 6–7(6–8), 6–3
2006 Rafael Nadal Roger Federer2–6, 6–4, 6–4
2007 Roger Federer (4) Mikhail Youzhny6–4, 6–3
2008 Andy Roddick Feliciano López6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–2
2009 Novak Djokovic David Ferrer7–5, 6–3
2010 Novak Djokovic (2) Mikhail Youzhny7–5, 5–7, 6–3
2011 Novak Djokovic (3) Roger Federer6–3, 6–3
2012 Roger Federer (5) Andy Murray7–5, 6–4
2013 Novak Djokovic (4) Tomáš Berdych7–5, 6–3
2014 Roger Federer (6) Tomáš Berdych3–6, 6–4, 6–3
2015 Roger Federer (7) Novak Djokovic6–3, 7–5
2016 Stan Wawrinka Marcos Baghdatis6–4, 7–6(15–13)
2017 Andy Murray Fernando Verdasco6–3, 6–2
2018 Roberto Bautista Agut Lucas Pouille6–3, 6–4
2019 Roger Federer (8) Stefanos Tsitsipas6–4, 6–4
2020 Novak Djokovic (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas6–3, 6–4

Women's singles

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 Martina Hingis Nathalie Tauziat6–4, 6–4
2002 Amélie Mauresmo Sandrine Testud6–4, 7–6(7–3)
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne Monica Seles4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–5
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne (2) Svetlana Kuznetsova7–6(7–3), 6–3
2005 Lindsay Davenport Jelena Janković6–4, 3–6, 6–4
2006 Justine Henin-Hardenne (3) Maria Sharapova7–5, 6–2
2007 Justine Henin (4) Amélie Mauresmo6–4, 7–5
2008 Elena Dementieva Svetlana Kuznetsova4–6, 6–3, 6–2
  Premier 5 tournament  
2009 Venus Williams Virginie Razzano6–4, 6–2
2010 Venus Williams (2) Victoria Azarenka6–3, 7–5
2011 Caroline Wozniacki Svetlana Kuznetsova6–1, 6–3
  Premier tournament  
2012 Agnieszka Radwańska Julia Görges7–5, 6–4
2013 Petra Kvitová Sara Errani6–2, 1–6, 6–1
2014 Venus Williams (3) Alizé Cornet6–3, 6–0
  Premier 5 tournament  
2015 Simona Halep Karolína Plíšková6–4, 7–6(7–4)
  Premier tournament  
2016 Sara Errani Barbora Strýcová6–0, 6–2
  Premier 5 tournament  
2017 Elina Svitolina Caroline Wozniacki6–4, 6–2
  Premier tournament  
2018 Elina Svitolina (2) Daria Kasatkina6–4, 6–0
  Premier 5 tournament  
2019 Belinda Bencic Petra Kvitová6–3, 1–6, 6–2
  Premier tournament  
2020 Simona Halep (2) Elena Rybakina3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–5)

Men's doubles

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
1993 John Fitzgerald
Anders Järryd
Grant Connell
Patrick Galbraith
6–2, 6–1
1994 Todd Woodbridge
Mark Woodforde
Darren Cahill
John Fitzgerald
6–7, 6–4, 6–2
1995 Grant Connell
Patrick Galbraith
Tomás Carbonell
Francisco Roig
6–2, 4–6, 6–3
1996 Grant Connell (2)
Byron Black
Karel Nováček
Jiří Novák
6–0, 6–1
1997 Sander Groen
Goran Ivanišević
Sandon Stolle
Cyril Suk
7–6, 6–3
1998 Mahesh Bhupathi
Leander Paes
Donald Johnson
Francisco Montana
6–2, 7–5
1999 Wayne Black
Sandon Stolle
David Adams
John-Laffnie de Jager
4–6, 6–1, 6–4
2000 Jiří Novák
David Rikl
Robbie Koenig
Peter Tramacchi
6–2, 7–5
2001 Joshua Eagle
Sandon Stolle (2)
Daniel Nestor
Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–4
2002 Mark Knowles
Daniel Nestor
Joshua Eagle
Sandon Stolle
3–6, 6–3, [13–11]
2003 Leander Paes
David Rikl (2)
Wayne Black
Kevin Ullyett
6–3, 6–0
2004 Mahesh Bhupathi (2)
Fabrice Santoro
Jonas Björkman
Leander Paes
6–2, 4–6, 6–4
2005 Martin Damm
Radek Štěpánek
Jonas Björkman
Fabrice Santoro
6–2, 6–4
2006 Paul Hanley
Kevin Ullyett
Mark Knowles
Daniel Nestor
1–6, 6–2, [10–1]
2007 Fabrice Santoro (2)
Nenad Zimonjić
Mahesh Bhupathi
Radek Štěpánek
7–5, 6–7(3–7), [10–7]
2008 Mahesh Bhupathi (3)
Mark Knowles (2)
Martin Damm
Pavel Vízner
7–5, 7–6(9–7)
2009 Rik de Voest
Dmitry Tursunov
Martin Damm
Robert Lindstedt
4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
2010 Simon Aspelin
Paul Hanley
Lukáš Dlouhý
Leander Paes
6–2, 6–3
2011 Sergiy Stakhovsky
Mikhail Youzhny
Jérémy Chardy
Feliciano López
4–6, 6–3, [10–3]
2012 Mahesh Bhupathi (4)
Rohan Bopanna
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Marcin Matkowski
6–4, 3–6, [10–5]
2013 Mahesh Bhupathi (5)
Michaël Llodra
Robert Lindstedt
Nenad Zimonjić
7–6(8–6), 7–6(8–6)
2014 Rohan Bopanna (2)
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Daniel Nestor
Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–3
2015 Rohan Bopanna (3)
Daniel Nestor (2)
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–1
2016 Simone Bolelli
Andreas Seppi
Feliciano López
Marc López
6–2, 3–6, [14–12]
2017 Jean-Julien Rojer
Horia Tecău
Rohan Bopanna
Marcin Matkowski
4–6, 6–3, [10–3]
2018 Jean-Julien Rojer (2)
Horia Tecău (2)
James Cerretani
Leander Paes
6–2, 7–6(7–2)
2019 Rajeev Ram
Joe Salisbury
Ben McLachlan
Jan-Lennard Struff
7–6(7–4), 6–3
2020 John Peers
Michael Venus
Raven Klaasen
Oliver Marach
6–3, 6–2

Women's doubles

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 Yayuk Basuki
Caroline Vis
Åsa Svensson
Karina Habšudová
6–0, 4–6, 6–2
2002 Barbara Rittner
María Vento-Kabchi
Sandrine Testud
Roberta Vinci
6–3, 6–2
2003 Svetlana Kuznetsova
Martina Navratilova
Cara Black
Elena Likhovtseva
6–3, 7–6(9–7)
2004 Janette Husárová
Conchita Martínez
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Elena Likhovtseva
6–0, 1–6, 6–3
2005 Virginia Ruano Pascual
Paola Suárez
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Alicia Molik
6–7(7–9), 6–2, 6–1
2006 Květa Peschke
Francesca Schiavone
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Nadia Petrova
3–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–3
2007 Cara Black
Liezel Huber
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Alicia Molik
7–6(8–6), 6–4
2008 Cara Black (2)
Liezel Huber (2)
Zheng Jie
Yan Zi
7–5, 6–2
  Premier 5 tournament  
2009 Cara Black (3)
Liezel Huber (3)
Maria Kirilenko
Agnieszka Radwańska
6–3, 6–3
2010 Nuria Llagostera Vives
María José Martínez Sánchez
Květa Peschke
Katarina Srebotnik
7–6(7–5), 6–4
2011 Liezel Huber (4)
María José Martínez Sánchez (2)
Květa Peschke
Katarina Srebotnik
7–6(7–5), 6–3
  Premier tournament  
2012 Liezel Huber (5)
Lisa Raymond
Sania Mirza
Elena Vesnina
6–2, 6–1
2013 Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Sania Mirza
Nadia Petrova
Katarina Srebotnik
6–4, 2–6, [10–7]
2014 Alla Kudryavtseva
Anastasia Rodionova
Raquel Kops-Jones
Abigail Spears
6–2, 5–7, [10–8]
  Premier 5 tournament  
2015 Tímea Babos
Kristina Mladenovic
Garbiñe Muguruza
Carla Suárez Navarro
6–3, 6–2
  Premier tournament  
2016 Chuang Chia-jung
Darija Jurak
Caroline Garcia
Kristina Mladenovic
6–4, 6–4
  Premier 5 tournament  
2017 Ekaterina Makarova
Elena Vesnina
Andrea Hlaváčková
Peng Shuai
6–2, 4–6, [10–7]
  Premier tournament  
2018 Chan Hao-ching
Yang Zhaoxuan
Hsieh Su-wei
Peng Shuai
4–6, 6–2, [10–6]
  Premier 5 tournament  
2019 Hsieh Su-wei
Barbora Strýcová
Lucie Hradecká
Ekaterina Makarova
6–4, 6–4
  Premier tournament  
2020 Hsieh Su-wei (2)
Barbora Strýcová (2)
Barbora Krejčíková
Zheng Saisai
7–5, 3–6, [10–5]

References

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Kitzbühel
ATP International Series Tournament of the Year
1997
Succeeded by
Lyon & Scottsdale
Preceded by
Montreal
Favorite WTA Tier I – II Tournament
2001, 2002
Succeeded by
Moscow
Preceded by
Kitzbühel
Acapulco
ATP World Tour 500 Tournament of the Year
20032006
2008-2014
Succeeded by
Acapulco
Queen's Club Championships

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