Tennis tournament cancelled but players made to pay £4.3k each to escape Middle East | Tennis | Sport

A tennis tournament in the United Arab Emirates has been cancelled following the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East. The inaugural Fujairah Challenger, part of the ATP Challenger Tour, was brought to a premature end after less than two days of action. Play was disrupted by nearby explosions on Tuesday as players, officials and coaches were forced to flee courts and seek shelter.

Iran targeted an oil terminal at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, just six miles away from the tournament. A fire subsequently broke out at the facility after jets intercepted a drone attack and debris fell and hit a fuel tank in the refinery area. The blaze was later brought under control and no injuries have been reported.

However, the escalating security situation has led to the Fujairah Challenger 1 and Fujairah Challenger 2 being cancelled, leaving players and officials stranded in the region unless they are willing to pay thousands of pounds to board a chartered flight.

According to Portuguese tennis outlet Bola Marela, the ATP informed players that a plane would be readied to take them from Muscat to Milan, with a stopover in Egypt. However, the estimated cost would be 5,000 euros (£4,349) per person.

Players were reportedly asked to express their interest ‘as quickly as possible’, with the chartered flight due to depart on Thursday.

The solution, although expensive, may be the quickest and safest way for players to leave the Middle East amid escalating hostilities in the region.

Vladyslav Orlov, a player at the Fujairah Challenger, took to social media earlier on Tuesday as he admitted that he wasn’t feeling safe in the area.

On his Instagram story, he said: “So I just finished my match in Fujairah. Second round. But the play suspended for today because we all got the emails that there was a shelling 10 kilometres from us.

“We all got the notification and actually when I was playing I heard the sound of the jets flying here and there. There is a smoke going here, next to the mountain. So, not very safe here right now.”

Orlov then shared footage from inside a car as he passed the blaze, with flames and thick black smoke billowing out of a tank in the oil facility. He captioned the video: “Around 10 km from where I played my match today…”

Meanwhile, a match between Japanese player Hayato Matsuoka and his Russian opponent, Daniil Ostapenkov, was abruptly paused when they were forced to sprint to cover.

The two players, along with the umpire and line judges, were seen running off the court during the third set as tournament officials urged them to seek shelter.

The ATP later issued a statement before the tournament was cancelled, declaring that the “health, safety and wellbeing of our players, staff and tournament personnel is our priority”.

They added: “Following consultation with local authorities and security advisers, play has been cancelled for the remainder of the day as a precautionary measure. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as appropriate.”