The Dubai Tennis Championships (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. It is currently listed as a WTA 1000 on the WTA Tour and an ATP 500 on the ATP Tour.
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.
The courts usually have a medium-fast speed considered to be similar in speed to the Shanghai and Swiss Indoor (Basel) courts.
History
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 DESIGN BY Italian architects Mario Donato and luigi Donato 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
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
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
| Year
|
Champion
|
Runner-up
|
Score
|
| ↓ ATP Tour 250[a] ↓
|
| 1993 |
Karel Nováček |
Fabrice Santoro |
6–4, 7–5
|
| 1994 |
Magnus Gustafsson |
Sergi Bruguera |
6–4, 6–2
|
| 1995 |
Wayne Ferreira |
Andrea Gaudenzi |
6–3, 6–3
|
| 1996 |
Goran Ivanišević |
Albert Costa |
6–4, 6–3
|
| 1997 |
Thomas Muster |
Goran Ivanišević |
7–5, 7–6(7–3)
|
| 1998 |
Àlex Corretja |
Félix Mantilla |
7–6(7–0), 6–1
|
| 1999 |
Jérôme Golmard |
Nicolas Kiefer |
6–4, 6–2
|
| 2000 |
Nicolas Kiefer |
Juan Carlos Ferrero |
7–5, 4–6, 6–3
|
| ↓ ATP Tour 500[b] ↓
|
| 2001 |
Juan Carlos Ferrero |
Marat Safin |
6–2, 3–1 Ret.
|
| 2002 |
Fabrice Santoro |
Younes El Aynaoui |
6–4, 3–6, 6–3
|
| 2003 |
Roger Federer |
Jiří Novák |
6–1, 7–6(7–2)
|
| 2004 |
Roger Federer (2) |
Feliciano López |
4–6, 6–1, 6–2
|
| 2005 |
Roger Federer (3) |
Ivan Ljubičić |
6–1, 6–7(6–8), 6–3
|
| 2006 |
Rafael Nadal |
Roger Federer |
2–6, 6–4, 6–4
|
| 2007 |
Roger Federer (4) |
Mikhail Youzhny |
6–4, 6–3
|
| 2008 |
Andy Roddick |
Feliciano López |
6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–2
|
| 2009 |
Novak Djokovic |
David Ferrer |
7–5, 6–3
|
| 2010 |
Novak Djokovic (2) |
Mikhail Youzhny |
7–5, 5–7, 6–3
|
| 2011 |
Novak Djokovic (3) |
Roger Federer |
6–3, 6–3
|
| 2012 |
Roger Federer (5) |
Andy Murray |
7–5, 6–4
|
| 2013 |
Novak Djokovic (4) |
Tomáš Berdych |
7–5, 6–3
|
| 2014 |
Roger Federer (6) |
Tomáš Berdych |
3–6, 6–4, 6–3
|
| 2015 |
Roger Federer (7) |
Novak Djokovic |
6–3, 7–5
|
| 2016 |
Stan Wawrinka |
Marcos Baghdatis |
6–4, 7–6(15–13)
|
| 2017 |
Andy Murray |
Fernando Verdasco |
6–3, 6–2
|
| 2018 |
Roberto Bautista Agut |
Lucas Pouille |
6–3, 6–4
|
| 2019 |
Roger Federer (8) |
Stefanos Tsitsipas |
6–4, 6–4
|
| 2020 |
Novak Djokovic (5) |
Stefanos Tsitsipas |
6–3, 6–4
|
| 2021 |
Aslan Karatsev |
Lloyd Harris |
6–3, 6–2
|
| 2022 |
Andrey Rublev |
Jiří Veselý |
6–3, 6–4
|
| 2023 |
Daniil Medvedev |
Andrey Rublev |
6–2, 6–2
|
| 2024 |
Ugo Humbert |
Alexander Bublik |
6–4, 6–3
|
| 2025 |
Stefanos Tsitsipas |
Félix Auger-Aliassime |
6–3, 6–3
|
Women's singles
| Year
|
Champion
|
Runner-up
|
Score
|
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓
|
| 2001 |
Martina Hingis |
Nathalie Tauziat |
6–4, 6–4
|
| 2002 |
Amélie Mauresmo |
Sandrine Testud |
6–4, 7–6(7–3)
|
| 2003 |
Justine Henin-Hardenne |
Monica Seles |
4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–5
|
| 2004 |
Justine Henin-Hardenne (2) |
Svetlana Kuznetsova |
7–6(7–3), 6–3
|
| 2005 |
Lindsay Davenport |
Jelena Janković |
6–4, 3–6, 6–4
|
| 2006 |
Justine Henin-Hardenne (3) |
Maria Sharapova |
7–5, 6–2
|
| 2007 |
Justine Henin (4) |
Amélie Mauresmo |
6–4, 7–5
|
| 2008 |
Elena Dementieva |
Svetlana Kuznetsova |
4–6, 6–3, 6–2
|
| ↓ Premier 5 tournament ↓
|
| 2009 |
Venus Williams |
Virginie Razzano |
6–4, 6–2
|
| 2010 |
Venus Williams (2) |
Victoria Azarenka |
6–3, 7–5
|
| 2011 |
Caroline Wozniacki |
Svetlana Kuznetsova |
6–1, 6–3
|
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓
|
| 2012 |
Agnieszka Radwańska |
Julia Görges |
7–5, 6–4
|
| 2013 |
Petra Kvitová |
Sara Errani |
6–2, 1–6, 6–1
|
| 2014 |
Venus Williams (3) |
Alizé Cornet |
6–3, 6–0
|
| ↓ Premier 5 tournament ↓
|
| 2015 |
Simona Halep |
Karolína Plíšková |
6–4, 7–6(7–4)
|
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓
|
| 2016 |
Sara Errani |
Barbora Strýcová |
6–0, 6–2
|
| ↓ Premier 5 tournament ↓
|
| 2017 |
Elina Svitolina |
Caroline Wozniacki |
6–4, 6–2
|
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓
|
| 2018 |
Elina Svitolina (2) |
Daria Kasatkina |
6–4, 6–0
|
| ↓ Premier 5 tournament ↓
|
| 2019 |
Belinda Bencic |
Petra Kvitová |
6–3, 1–6, 6–2
|
| ↓ Premier tournament ↓
|
| 2020 |
Simona Halep (2) |
Elena Rybakina |
3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
|
| ↓ WTA 1000 tournament ↓
|
| 2021 |
Garbiñe Muguruza |
Barbora Krejčíková |
7–6(8–6), 6–3
|
| ↓ WTA 500 tournament ↓
|
| 2022 |
Jeļena Ostapenko |
Veronika Kudermetova |
6–0, 6–4
|
| ↓ WTA 1000 tournament ↓
|
| 2023 |
Barbora Krejčíková |
Iga Świątek |
6–4, 6–2
|
| 2024 |
Jasmine Paolini |
Anna Kalinskaya |
4–6, 7–5, 7–5
|
| 2025 |
Mirra Andreeva |
Clara Tauson |
7–6(7–1), 6–1
|
Men's doubles
| Year
|
Champions
|
Runners-up
|
Score
|
| ↓ ATP Tour 250[a] ↓
|
| 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
|
| ↓ ATP Tour 500[b] ↓
|
| 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
|
| 2021 |
Juan Sebastián Cabal
Robert Farah |
Nikola Mektić
Mate Pavić |
7–6(7–0), 7–6(7–4)
|
| 2022 |
Tim Pütz
Michael Venus |
Nikola Mektić
Mate Pavić |
6–3, 6–7(5–7), [16–14]
|
| 2023 |
Maxime Cressy
Fabrice Martin |
Lloyd Glasspool
Harri Heliövaara |
7–6(7–2), 6–4
|
| 2024 |
Tallon Griekspoor
Jan-Lennard Struff |
Ivan Dodig
Austin Krajicek |
6–4, 4–6, [10–6]
|
| 2025 |
Yuki Bhambri
Alexei Popyrin |
Harri Heliövaara
Henry Patten |
3–6, 7–6(14–12), [10–8]
|
Women's doubles
| 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]
|
| ↓ WTA 1000 tournament ↓
|
| 2021 |
Alexa Guarachi
Darija Jurak (2) |
Xu Yifan
Yang Zhaoxuan |
6–0, 6–3
|
| ↓ WTA 500 tournament ↓
|
| 2022 |
Veronika Kudermetova
Elise Mertens |
Lyudmyla Kichenok
Jeļena Ostapenko |
6–1, 6–3
|
| ↓ WTA 1000 tournament ↓
|
| 2023 |
Veronika Kudermetova (2)
Liudmila Samsonova |
Chan Hao-ching
Latisha Chan |
6–4, 6–7(4–7), [10–1]
|
| 2024 |
Storm Hunter
Kateřina Siniaková |
Nicole Melichar-Martinez
Ellen Perez |
6–4, 6–2
|
| 2025 |
Kateřina Siniaková (2)
Taylor Townsend |
Hsieh Su-wei
Jeļena Ostapenko |
7–6(7–5), 6–4
|
Notes
- ^ a b Known as World Series from 1990 till 1999. International Series from 2000 till 2008.
- ^ a b Known as International Series Gold from 2000 till 2008.
References
External links
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Previous men's tournament categories (2000–2008) |
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Previous women's tournament categories (2001–2020) |
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25°14′34.33″N 55°20′33″E / 25.2428694°N 55.34250°E / 25.2428694; 55.34250