On Saturday, the United States and Israel launched military action on Iran, and the latter retaliated by attacking various American bases in the region, including in the United Arab Emirates.
The situation in the Middle East led the UAE to close its airspace at 1pm local time on Saturday, which prevented over 40 ATP players, staff and officials from leaving Dubai on flights after the ATP 500 tournament.
Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov were among the players unable to depart from Dubai, with the Russian trio instead opting to travel to Oman by car to catch a “special flight” to Turkey.
On Tuesday, the ATP Tour cancelled this week’s Challenger Tour tournament in Fujairah in the UAE, as well as another event at the same venue scheduled for next week.
The decision was made after there was an explosion following the interception of a drone around eight miles from the site of the tournament.
According to The Athletic, the ATP told players who had signed up for the Fujairah events that it would “potentially” be organising a charter flight from Muscat in Oman costing $5,800 per passenger. The ATP then clarified that it was not organising the flight “directly.”
The men’s tour faced a backlash, with Belarusian player Ilya Ivashka — who was competing in Fujairah – criticising the governing body for its response.
On Wednesday, though, the ATP announced it would cover the costs for all players in Fujairah to leave the region.
In a statement, the ATP said: “Following the cancellation of the ATP Challenger Tour events in Fujairah, the ATP has been working closely with tournament organisers to support players on site.
“Accommodation and essential needs continue to be covered by the tournament, and a charter flight has been arranged and fully funded by the ATP to assist with departures from the region at no cost to players.”
After the ATP’s update, Ivashka took to Instagram to describe the men’s tour as a “class act.
“Just got a confirmation that all the people from the tournament in Fujairah will be evacuated with no cost,” Ivashka wrote.
“Everything completely covered. Class act @atptour.”
On the players who were stuck in Dubai following last week’s tournament, the ATP added: “Separately, the vast majority of players who were in Dubai have successfully departed today on selected flights.
“The safety and wellbeing of our players, support teams and staff members remains our highest priority, and we continue to remain in close contact with those affected.”
