Dubai Tennis Stadium gets upgrade for Dubai tennis championships

Glossy, grinning cut-outs of World No.1 Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic greet visitors to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, electrical testing is undertaken on the scoreboards above the stands on Centre Court, and the Dubai Duty Free pop-up merchandise stores are fully stocked with branded tee-shirts, keyrings, and tennis balls. It can mean only one thing: The highly anticipated Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is just around the corner. At the start of Dubai’s annual two-week tennis extravaganza on Sunday (February 19), the area surrounding the 5,000-capacity stadium is a hive of activity. The women’s WTA 1000 event, which runs until February 25, will be followed immediately by the men’s ATP 500 tournament from February 27 to March 4. Main draw play begins on Sunday. The tournament features a 56-player singles draw and 28-team doubles draw. The singles and doubles finals will be played on Saturday (February 25). The doubles final will begin at 5pm, followed by the singles final at 7pm. In preparation, staff have been busy wiping down the venue’s black-and-gold gates in anticipation of welcoming 80,000-plus fans through them over the course of 14 days. Beds of red, yellow, and white chrysanthemums were watered nearby. The women’s tournament is set to feature 17 of the world’s top 20 players, and Aryna Sabalenka, winner of her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open last month, is looking to gain every competitive advantage, practising on Centre Court with Leyla Fernandez, the Canadian ranked World No.39. The two exchanged strokes for close to an hour as their coaching teams watched on and maintenance staff fixed up banners for sponsors such as JP Morgan, EA7, Emirates and Roles. The flags of more than 30 participating nations will be hanged only on the eve of the first coin toss. “Preparations for this month started months ago and we have some new features that we are looking forward to our players, guests, colleagues, and spectators experiencing,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, the tournament owners and organisers. Among the new additions are expanded, two-storey management offices, a plush new red carpet inside the Royal Box, an upgraded LED leaderboard and official rankings table outside The Majlis, and – most importantly of all – new surfaces on all 10 of the venue’s hardcourts. Starting in January, the nine side courts were resurfaced using DecoTurf acrylic, of which Dubai Duty Free imported 9,000sqm from California. Centre Court was left until last with the five-day process being finalised on February 8 – just in time for three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray to train on it earlier this week ahead of his wildcard participation in the $2.9-million championships. Traditionally, the venue has provided a medium-fast speed of play and organisers confirmed this has not changed. ALSO READ: Andy Murray enjoys time with family in Dubai As the only event wholly owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free, the company has mobilised a 240-person team consisting mainly of in-house staff, with a further 80 security personnel contracted for the two weeks to ensure the safety of all players and visitors. The adjoining Jumeirah Creekside Hotel will be home to the elite field of men and women flying in from around the world, as well as a host of coaches, masseuses, physiotherapists, sports psychologists, WTA and ATP staff, and special guests. Saturday’s main draw for the women’s tournament will outline the path to the final for the likes of Swiatek and Sabalenka, the World No.1 and No.2 respectively. Taking place at The Majlis and conducted in the presence of McLoughlin, Ramesh Cidambi, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai Duty Free and head of the Tournament Organising Committee, and Salah Tahlak, Joint COO and Tournament Director of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, the bracket will determine the schedule of play for Monday and Tuesday. “We have five Grand Slam winners in the field of our women’s tournament this year,” said Cidambi. “With 64 players entering the Main Draw, including nine of the world’s top 10, there is the potential for some mouth-watering matches in the early rounds.” ALSO READ: Top 10 female players to watch at Dubai tennis championships Tickets are available on dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com, starting from Dh55. Tickets are also available at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium Box Office between 9am and 9pm daily. This month’s championships will start with the WTA event from February 19 to 25, before the ATP Tour 500 tournament from February 26 to March 4. Both events carry equal prize money totaling $2.7 million for both men's and women's tennis. ICA/Expat Media
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