A tennis tournament in the United Arab Emirates was abruptly halted due to an air strike siren as players and officials fled from the court before play was suspended.
The Fujairah Challenger, a tournament on the ATP’s Challenger circuit, was taking place amid the conflict in the Middle East. Fujairah is a key port city on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, around 120km away from Dubai.
The match between Japan’s Hayato Matsuoka and Belarusian Daniil Ostapenkov was suspended during the third set following the sound of the warning siren.
The players rushed off the court as officials shouted for them to get safety. There were later reports of a major fire at the Fujairah Oil Terminal after a drone strike was intercepted.
A statement from the ATP, sent to The Independent, said: “Play at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Fujairah was suspended today following a security alert.
“In line with established security protocols, play was immediately halted and players, officials and staff were directed to designated safe areas.
“The health, safety and wellbeing of our players, staff and tournament personnel is our priority. Following consultation with local authorities and security advisors, play has been cancelled for the remainder of the day as a precautionary measure.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as appropriate.”
The Fujairah Challenger began on Monday 2 March, despite the eruption of air strikes from the United States and Israel against Iran over the weekend.
The conflict in the Middle East and the grounding of flights due to airspace closures has also led to several players facing challenges to reach the next stop of the tour at Indian Wells in California.
Daniil Medvedev, who won the Dubai Championships title via walkover on Saturday, and Andrey Rublev are among the players who remain stuck in the Middle East.
