Dubai Tennis Championships

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.

[citation needed] The Dubai Tennis Championships debuted at the Aviation Club in 1993 as an ATP 250 tournament.

The inaugural ATP men's tournament was won by Karel Nováček in 1993 who was ranked world number 23 at the time.

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.

[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.

The 2014 Dubai Tennis Championships semifinal featuring Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic
Dubai Tennis Championships in 2006
Roger Federer (winner in 2003–05, 2007, 2012, 2014–15, 2019, runner-up in 2006, 2011) holds all records in Dubai, for most titles (eight), most finals (ten), most consecutive titles (three) and most consecutive finals (five).
Novak Djokovic (winner in 2009–11, 2013, 2020, runner-up in 2015) shares with Federer the record for most consecutive titles (three).
Justine Henin (2003–04, 2006–07) collected a record total of four singles titles in Dubai.
Former world No. 1 Simona Halep clinched the title in Dubai in 2015 and 2020.
Mahesh Bhupathi (1998, 2004, 2008, 2012–13) took five doubles titles at the tournament, each time with a different partner.
Liezel Huber (2007–09, 2011–12) is the most successful player in women's doubles, with five titles in Dubai.