Dubai Tennis Championships

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Tournament information
Tour ATP World Tour
WTA Tour
Founded 1993 (1993)
Location Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Venue Aviation Club Tennis Centre
Category ATP World Tour 500
WTA Premier
Surface Hard (Outdoor)
Draw 32S/16Q/16D (men)
28S/32Q/16D (women)
Prize money US$1,928,340 (men)
US$2,000,000 (women)
Website Official website
Current champions (2016)
Men's singles Switzerland Stan Wawrinka
Women's singles Italy Sara Errani
Men's doubles Italy Simone Bolelli
Italy Andreas Seppi
Women's doubles Chinese Taipei Chuang Chia-jung
Croatia Darija Jurak

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. 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.

History

The 2014 Dubai Tennis Championships Semi Finals 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 currently 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 Stan Wawrinka and Sara Errani.

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 does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. 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.[2] A number of top-seeded players, among them Venus Williams,[3] condemned the action to not 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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

Past finals

Dubai Tennis Championships in 2006

In the men's singles, Roger Federer (winner in 2003–05, 2007, 2012, 2014–15, runner-up in 2006, 2011) holds the records for most titles (seven), most finals (nine), 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) 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, runner-up in 2006, 2011) holds all records in Dubai, for most titles (seven), most finals (nine), and most back-to-back titles (three).
Novak Djokovic (winner in 2009–11, 2013, runner-up in 2015) shares with Federer the record for most consecutive titles (three).
Year Champion Runner-up Score
1993Czech Republic Karel NováčekFrance Fabrice Santoro6–4, 7–5
1994Sweden Magnus GustafssonSpain Sergi Bruguera6–4, 6–2
1995South Africa Wayne FerreiraItaly Andrea Gaudenzi6–3, 6–3
1996Croatia Goran IvaniševićSpain Albert Costa6–4, 6–3
1997Austria Thomas MusterCroatia Goran Ivanišević7–5, 7–6(7–3)
1998Spain Àlex CorretjaSpain Félix Mantilla7–6(7–0), 6–1
1999France Jérôme GolmardGermany Nicolas Kiefer6–4, 6–2
2000Germany Nicolas KieferSpain Juan Carlos Ferrero7–5, 4–6, 6–3
2001Spain Juan Carlos FerreroRussia Marat Safin6–2, 3–1 retired
2002France Fabrice SantoroMorocco Younes El Aynaoui6–4, 3–6, 6–3
2003Switzerland Roger FedererCzech Republic Jiří Novák6–1, 7–6(7–2)
2004Switzerland Roger FedererSpain Feliciano López4–6, 6–1, 6–2
2005Switzerland Roger FedererCroatia Ivan Ljubičić6–1, 6–7(6–8), 6–3
2006Spain Rafael NadalSwitzerland Roger Federer2–6, 6–4, 6–4
2007Switzerland Roger FedererRussia Mikhail Youzhny6–4, 6–3
2008United States Andy RoddickSpain Feliciano López6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–2
2009Serbia Novak DjokovicSpain David Ferrer7–5, 6–3
2010Serbia Novak DjokovicRussia Mikhail Youzhny7–5, 5–7, 6–3
2011Serbia Novak DjokovicSwitzerland Roger Federer6–3, 6–3
2012Switzerland Roger FedererUnited Kingdom Andy Murray7–5, 6–4
2013Serbia Novak DjokovicCzech Republic Tomáš Berdych7–5, 6–3
2014Switzerland Roger FedererCzech Republic Tomáš Berdych3–6, 6–4, 6–3
2015Switzerland Roger FedererSerbia Novak Djokovic6–3, 7–5
2016Switzerland Stan WawrinkaCyprus Marcos Baghdatis6–4, 7–6(15–13)

Women's singles

Justine Henin (2003–04, 2006–07) collected a record total of four singles titles in Dubai.
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

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 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
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
2001 Australia Joshua Eagle
Australia Sandon Stolle
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
Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
6–3, 6–0
2004 India Mahesh Bhupathi
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
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
India Mahesh Bhupathi
Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek
7–5, 6–7(3–7), [10–7]
2008 India Mahesh Bhupathi
The Bahamas Mark Knowles
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
India Rohan Bopanna
Poland Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Poland Marcin Matkowski
6–4, 3–6, [10–5]
2013 India Mahesh Bhupathi
France Michaël Llodra
Sweden Robert Lindstedt
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
7–6(8–6), 7–6(8–6)
2014 India Rohan Bopanna
Pakistan Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Canada Daniel Nestor
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–3
2015 India Rohan Bopanna
Canada Daniel Nestor
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]

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 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

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dubai Tennis Championships.
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-present
Succeeded by
Acapulco
-



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

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