The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2026.

The official ATP500 draw has confirmed several high-profile opening round clashes at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, setting up a week of heavyweight matchups. Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, last year’s runner-up, opens his campaign against China’s Zhizhen Zhang. Second seed Alexander Bublik will face a qualifier, as will Britain’s Jack Draper and seventh seed Karen Khachanov. One of the most anticipated ties sees former champions Ugo Humbert and Stefanos Tsitsipas meet in the first round. Humbert lifted the trophy in 2024, while Tsitsipas won in 2025. Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan will take on Stan Wawrinka, the 2016 Dubai champion, in what is expected to be one of the week’s standout matches. Hassan made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics as the first singles tennis player to represent Lebanon and also became the first Lebanese player to qualify for the French Open in the Open Era. “It’s a tough one – he’s a Grand Slam champion so I have nothing to lose,” Hassan said. “I’m going to play freely,” he added. “He’s the older generation in his last season, but I know he can still play, and move, very well. On top of that, he has the experience and knows what he’s doing, so I’ll need to fight and find ways to keep up with him.” Other key first-round matches include third seed Daniil Medvedev against Shang Juncheng, 2022 champion Andrey Rublev facing Valentin Royer, Jakub Mensik against Hubert Hurkacz, Jiri Lehecka meeting Arthur Fils, and Arthur Rinderknech playing Fabian Marozsan. The draw ceremony was led by ATP Supervisor Ahmed Abdel-Azim and attended by Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free. “After an amazingly successful WTA1000 week where we saw a 44 per cent year-on-year increase at the Box Office, and 48 percent year-on-year jump in overall ticket sales, we look forward to carrying that momentum into ATP week,” Cidambi said. The 34th edition of the tournament runs from February 23 to 28. PIA/MFD/Expat Media
For all the latest news from the UAE and the world, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube page