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ATP ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Medvedev, Rublev and tournament staff stuck in Dubai as regional airspace closures disrupt travel

Forty-one people from the Dubai ATP 500 remain stranded after airspace closures halted flights: now.

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A group of players, coaches and tournament personnel remain unable to leave the United Arab Emirates after the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships as regional airspace closures followed an outbreak of conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran.

According to MARCA, 41 people involved with the tournament are still unable to depart. Among those reported stuck in Dubai are champion Daniil Medvedev and runner-up Tallon Griekspoor, who did not play their final because of the Dutch player’s injury but both took part in the trophy ceremony. Also among those affected were doubles champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, runners-up Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic, and semifinalist Andrey Rublev. Tournament officials, tennis journalists and the tournament stenographer were also reported to be unable to leave.

“No one knows when we will be able to take off,” Medvedev told Bolshe! on Sunday. “That is, it’s not clear whether (airspace closures) will last long or not. Therefore we are just waiting to see, let’s say, what will happen in the next hours and days.”

The ATP issued a statement on Monday addressing the situation: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our players, staff and tournament personnel is our priority. We can confirm that a small number of players and team members remain in Dubai following the conclusion of the recent ATP 500 event. They and their teams are being accommodated in the tournament’s official hotels, where their immediate needs are being fully supported.

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The tour remains ‘in direct communication’ with those affected, as well as with tournament organizers, security advisors and local officials.

“At this stage, travel arrangements remain subject to ongoing assessment in line with airline operations and official guidance. We will continue to provide appropriate support to ensure players and their teams can safely depart when conditions allow.

“We will continue to assess developments and provide updates as appropriate.”

Separately, Holger Rune and his mother, Aneke Rune, were reported stuck in Doha, where the Dane has been recovering from an Achilles tendon injury at Aspetar Sports Medicine Hospital. “It’s been a wild night. We didn’t get much sleep,” Aneke told TV2 Sport. “It all seems more brutal at night with the fireballs in the sky and repeated bangs…” She added in an interview with BT: “We want to leave. But we have not yet received any news from Denmark. It’s a disappointing situation.”

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The travel disruption has left some players at risk of missing the BNP Paribas Open, which starts on March 4. Medvedev and Rublev were withdrawn from the Eisenhower Cup, with replacement pairings announced for that mixed doubles exhibition.

Several evacuation options were discussed, including drives to Muscat or Riyadh, but players remained at their hotels following an emergency meeting. Heliovaara wrote: “The instructions from the ATP side have been very clear so far, the safest thing to do is to stay at the hotel and wait.” He added detailed concerns about border traffic and travel permits: “According to the information we received, there are bad traffic jams at the border (to Oman), and in addition to that, arranging suitable transport is difficult, because a car with UAE plates is not allowed to drive into Oman without a permit, and you cannot cross the border on foot…

“The journey to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia is over 10 hours and the road after the border is quite bad. So it’s not an ideal route without proper preparations.”

As of Monday, Dubai International Airport had resumed limited operations with a small number of flights departing. The airport, located adjacent to the tournament venue and near the Creekside Hotel in Jumeirah, suffered damage overnight but was reported to be back up and running.

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ATP

Sinner’s serve numbers reveal a mixed picture despite his dominance

Sinner’s serve stats show elite power, but his first-serve percentage still leaves room for growth.

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Jannik Sinner’s serve has long been viewed as a major part of his rise to the top of the men’s game, yet the numbers from the past year tell a more complicated story.

The world No 1 adjusted his service motion shortly before he began establishing himself as a leading force on the ATP Tour, and that weapon stood out again when he defended his Wimbledon title earlier this month.

After losing the US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz last September, Sinner made it clear that he wanted more variety and consistency on serve. His own words at the time showed how deliberate that change was:

“I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,” said Sinner. after that defeat against Alcaraz in New York.

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“I’m looking forward to play these matches again, something new is now that I’m not No 1 anymore. Now you chase, it’s different.

“Maybe I will lose some matches from now on, but I will try to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player and because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player.”

Even with his strong recent run, the ATP Tour figures for the last 12 months show that there is still work to be done in one area. Sinner ranks 35th in first serve percentage at 63.8%, well behind Alexander Zverev, who leads the list at 72.5%.

The Italian, however, is far more dominant once the first serve lands. He leads the tour in service points won at 80.9%, just ahead of Reilly Opelka on 80.8% and Taylor Fritz on 79.7%.

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He also tops service games won at 92.9%, underlining how difficult he is to break. Opelka follows on 90.6%, with Ben Shelton third at 90.4% and Alcaraz at 89.9%.

One remaining area is ace production. Sinner is 27th in that category with an average of 8.2 per match, while Opelka leads with 18.5, followed by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on 15.1 and Fritz on 14.1.

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ATP

Sinner climbs to No 4 on all-time prize money list after Wimbledon defence

Sinner’s Wimbledon defence lifts him to No 4 on the all-time prize money list in 2026.

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Jannik Sinner’s successful Wimbledon title defence brought more than another major trophy. It also lifted the Italian to No 4 on the all-time career prize money list.

Before Wimbledon 2026, Sinner sat at No 6, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer occupying the top three spots and Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz positioned above him. Zverev had recently passed both Alcaraz and Sinner after his French Open run, but the order shifted again once Sinner collected $4,830,756 (£3,600,000) for his latest Wimbledon triumph.

That result leaves Sinner close to becoming only the fourth player to move beyond $70m in career prize money. He has already earned $11,620,364 in 2026 and is on track to break the $20m barrier for the first time in a season.

His rise has been rapid. Last year, he took in $19,120,641, a total that included a record $5,071,000 for winning the ATP Finals undefeated. He finished second on the 2025 earnings list behind Alcaraz, who made $21,354,778, after leading the way in 2024 with $19,735,703.

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At the end of the 2024 season, Sinner stood on $37,238,688. Since the start of the 2025 campaign, he has added another $32,347,873. From just $36 in prize money in his first professional year, he now sits on $69,586,561.

Zverev is fifth with $68,392,312, while Alcaraz is on $64,997,598 after not adding to his tally since April because of injury. Andy Murray has fallen to No 7 on $64,687,542, with Daniil Medvedev eighth on $52,192,594. Djokovic, Sinner, Zverev, Alcaraz and Medvedev are the only active players to have passed $40m.

Djokovic remains far ahead in first place with $194,656,816, including $3,000,801 earned in 2026. Nadal is second on $134,946,100 and Federer third on $130,594,339.

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ATP French Open Grand Slam

Auger-Aliassime Reaches Career-High No. 4 After Breakthrough at Roland Garros

Auger-Aliassime rises to No. 4 after best Roland Garros run, tying second-highest Canadian rank. Now

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Felix Auger-Aliassime moved to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings following his deepest run at Roland Garros, where the 25-year-old reached the quarterfinals for the first time before losing to eventual finalist Flavio Cobolli. The result completed a personal Grand Slam milestone: having previously reached the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, he became the first Canadian man to reach the quarterfinals or better at all four majors in his career.

The rise from No. 6 to No. 4 surpasses his prior best of No. 5 and places him tied for the second-highest-ranked Canadian in ATP or WTA rankings history. The only other Canadians to reach the top four are Milos Raonic and Bianca Andreescu. Raonic went as high as No. 3 in 2016, following his run to the Wimbledon final that year, and Andreescu peaked at No. 4 in 2019 after winning the US Open.

Canadian tennis has seen seven players reach the top 10 in either ATP or WTA history, with official rankings available since 1973 for the ATP and 1975 for the WTA.

Auger-Aliassime still has ground to cover to move higher in the standings. He is 2,865 points behind the current world No. 3, Alexander Zverev, with the rankings showing Zverev at 7,305 points and Auger-Aliassime at 4,440.

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The Canadian will shift his focus to grass. He begins his grass-court season this week at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, entering as the No. 1 seed. After a first-round bye he will open against either Hubert Hurkacz or Marton Fucsovics.

The new ranking reflects a season of important progress for Auger-Aliassime and cements his place among the highest-ranked Canadians in modern tennis history.

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