Under the Patronage of H.h. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the UAE sporting calendar and one of the most popular tournament stops for the ATP World Tour and the WTA Tour. Owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
It consists of a WTA 1000 women’s event, followed by the ATP 500 men’s tournament. This is the 31st year of the ATP tournament and the 23rd year of the WTA tournament.
The tournament has a long history of welcoming some of the top players in the game. Among its many champions, is a listing of the ‘who’s who’ in the sport of tennis including stars such as Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, who unleashed top quality tennis in front of sell-out crowds each year at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
The Men’s tournament has traditionally attracted great names in tennis over the past two decades including Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to name just a few.
To date, the tournament has received a total of 35 ATP / WTA awards since the inception of the men’s tournament in 1993 and the women’s in 2001. The men’s tournament has won the ATP 500 Tournament of the Year eleven times since 2003. This award is voted on by the ATP players.
The two-week long event consists of a comprehensive multi-faceted promotional campaign prior to the event and an extensive off-court entertainment program during the event.
It continues to promote Dubai as a sporting destination of choice worldwide, and attracts fans from around the world. The event also has a massive global audience with coverage across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas.