A busy Middle East tennis swing that featured five tournaments in four weeks wrapped up in Dubai on Saturday with Daniil Medvedev repeating a title for the first time in his career, adding this year’s dhow boat trophy to the one he captured in 2023.
The Dubai WTA and ATP weeks coincided with Ramadan this year and it somehow translated into huge crowds almost every single day.
Stars like Roger Federer and Khabib Nurmagomedov showed up to catch some of the action, with Federer supporting his Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka and Nurmagomedov turning up for fellow Russian Andrey Rublev.
Despite the numerous withdrawals and retirements that struck the WTA showpiece in Dubai, the tournament delivered some incredible matches and crowned a deserved champion in Jessica Pegula.
“We had a fantastic women’s week,” tournament director Salah Tahlak told The National. “We had four top-10 players competing in the semi-finals and so many great matches.
“Alexandra Eala was a brilliant addition to the field, she attracted a new demographic to the tennis and the stadium was sold out for all her matches. People were desperately trying to get tickets but they were all gone.
“We’ve never seen anything like it. I’m so happy that our sport and our tournament have captured the hearts of Filipino fans here in the UAE, because they bring so much passion to the stadium.”
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Jessica Pegula after beating Elina Svitolina in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final on February 21, 2026. Getty Images -
Jessica Pegula of the US after her 6-2, 6-4 win over Elina Svitolina. Reuters -
Jessica Pegula with with the ball boys and girls after her win in Dubai. Reuters -
Jessica Pegula won her fourth WTA 1000 crown. Reuters -
Jessica Pegula celebrates after winning match point against Elina Svitolina. AFP -
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina was hoping to win her third Dubai crown. AFP -
Jessica Pegula secured her 10th career singles title. Reuters -
Elina Svitolina had come through three consecutive three-set matches to reach the final. Reuters -
Jessica Pegula has reached at least the semi-finals in each of her last seven tournaments. AFP
The men’s tournament came to life in 1993 in Dubai and was given ATP 500-level status in 2009.
Its honour roll includes legendary names like Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray and it has long been a staple in the UAE’s annual sporting calendar.
There are concerns, though, about how the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will be affected by the introduction of the new Saudi Masters 1000 tournament in 2028.
The Saudi event hasn’t been given a slot in the ATP calendar yet, but both the tour and tournament owners SURJ Sports – a PIF subsidiary – have stated their preferred date would be somewhere around February’s already existing Middle East swing.
SURJ Sports Investment CEO Danny Townsend told The National last November: “We speak to the various stakeholders across those tournaments [Doha and Dubai] regularly on a multitude of different sport investments that we all make. We're well in tune to them all. What we are trying to do more broadly is work together as a Gulf region to collectively drive our influence over the global sporting landscape.
“This swing, if we can make it work, which I'm sure we can, a Gulf swing through the month of February/March would be fantastic. To have all the best men's and women's tennis players camped out in our part of the world for four to five weeks, I think it would be fantastic for tennis in the region.”
Tahlak is unsure what the calendar will look like in two years’ time but is wary of the ripple effect the Saudi Masters can have on the ATP tournaments in Dubai and Doha.
“It’s been years now where we’re discussing the schedule. And God knows what will happen in 2028,” he said.
“It could have a negative effect. If we look at the ATP schedule, if a player goes to play Doha, which is now a 500, they normally choose to take Dubai off then head straight to Indian Wells. We’ve been a 500 since 2009, but now Doha is a 500 too.
“Imagine in 2028 it could be Doha, Dubai, then Saudi Arabia. It’s too much. And there is even a possibility that Dubai and Doha take place in the same week. There is talk of that. We still don’t know for sure.”
The tennis calendar is jam-packed, and tournaments often find themselves in direct competition with one another, as they try to attract the best possible player fields.
Dubai currently coincides with Santiago and Acapulco, which switched from clay to hard courts in 2014.
“That created a tougher competition for us with them [Acapulco],” explained Tahlak. “Also there used to be 11 500s on the calendar, they then moved that number up to 13, and now 16. It’s too much.”
While it’s still unclear when the Saudi Masters will take place, there have been talks that any affected tournaments could receive financial compensation, but Tahlak doesn’t see that as a solution.
“Even if they compensate us with $1 million, we need the players, or we’ll have to cancel the tournament. People want to see the players. Both Dubai and Doha might be negatively affected by this,” he added.
“Of course, it’s nice to have a Middle East or GCC swing of three weeks in Dubai, Doha and Saudi. But it’s important not to have two of those tournaments in the same week. It’s not nice to pit us against each other.”
Players tend to go to tournaments that offer them the best appearance fees, but Tahlak feels “appearance fees won’t make a difference” if the schedule is not suitable for the players.
French player Arthur Fils, who withdrew from Dubai citing a hip injury after making the final in Doha, told The National last week that the tour schedule forces players to play too much, which will eventually lead to more withdrawals and weaker fields in various tournaments.
“A tournament like Dubai. It's a 500 and it's a nice tournament. But when you look at the draw, we don't have the best players here because they make a choice and they skip it because it's too much,” said Fils. “So you have to make some choices.”
