Middle Eastern tournaments on next year’s calendar could be altered if security worries in the region continue, with contingency plans now being discussed ahead of the WTA and ATP Tour events in Dubai and Doha in February 2027.

The issue has resurfaced after the disruption earlier this year, when Daniil Medvedev and fellow finalist Tallon Griekspoor were among the players and ATP staff left stranded in Dubai shortly after the Russian won the Dubai 500 event in February. Missile strikes on the United Arab Emirates led to flights in and out of the country being suspended for days, while Iranian forces attacked American military assets in the area.

According to The I Paper, tennis authorities have already begun considering a possible ‘Plan B’ to prevent a repeat of those complications. Singapore and Australia have been mentioned as potential destinations for the WTA events, although no ‘formal approach’ has been made.

The report also states that ATP officials would prefer to move the tournaments to Europe, but there are no immediate ‘forthcoming options’ available.

A switch may prove more complicated for the women’s tour. Although the Dubai and Doha events are ATP 500s, the WTA tournaments are 1000-level events, which brings greater demands in terms of draw size, prize money, and resources.

For now, both Dubai and Doha’s international airports remain open, but there is little appetite for another disruption like the one that affected the players in March. Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Griekspoor were unable to continue on to Indian Wells for the first Masters 1000 event of the year after the UAE closed its airspace.

At the start of March, Medvedev spoke about being stuck in Dubai with his family and support team. He called it an “unusual” situation, with one hotel reportedly turned into a de facto ‘bunker’. He said at the time, “Of course, the situation is unusual. The airspace is closed, no one knows when we’ll be able to fly. It’s unclear how long this will last, so we’re just waiting to see what happens in the next few hours and days. The airport closure is being gradually postponed.

“As strange as it may sound, I’m very emotional on the court, but in life, it would probably help me to be more emotional at certain moments. For me, everything is fine.

“Naturally, I’ve received a lot of messages from friends and acquaintances; everyone is worried. But I can say for myself that everything is fine.”

Carlos Alcaraz has joined the growing list of players assured of a place at the season-ending ATP Finals, while Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton emerged as the main beneficiaries in the ATP Rankings Race to Turin after the US Open.

Even though Alcaraz is currently No 4 in the Race, behind Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Shelton, his status as a current-year Grand Slam champion has secured his ticket to the year-end event. The reigning Australian Open champion is therefore in line for Turin through the Grand Slam champion rule.

Sinner was the first man to book his place, qualifying after a run built on five straight ATP Masters 1000 titles and a successful defence of his Wimbledon crown. Zverev’s place was confirmed in August when his maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros settled his qualification, and Alcaraz has now followed through the same route.

The Race works with the top seven players after the November cutoff going through, with one further place set aside for a current Grand Slam champion ranked between eighth and 20th. With Zverev and Sinner already locked in, Alcaraz has claimed that reserved spot, which means the top eight in the Race will now qualify.

Zverev’s title run at Flushing Meadows also lifted him to No 1 in the Race, putting him in position to be the top seed in November. Sinner still has more points to defend before the ATP Finals, which keeps that battle open.

Shelton, who captured the Canadian Open in August, climbed to third after finishing runner-up to Zverev at the US Open. He holds a 900-point cushion over Flavio Cobolli, who sits fifth.

The race behind them remains tight. Only 380 points separate Cobolli and Arthur Fils, with Frances Tiafoe between them after reaching the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows. Daniil Medvedev holds the final qualifying place, but Novak Djokovic is only 450 points behind in 15th.

Djokovic qualified for eight straight years from 2018 to 2025, though he chose not to play in 2024 and 2025. Since first qualifying in 2007, he has missed the event only once, in 2017, when injury affected him, and even if he does make the top eight this year, his participation remains unlikely.

Novak Djokovic has been navigating an uneven stretch, with age and results beginning to bite into even his most reliable routines. The 24-time Grand Slam champion arrives at the China Open after consecutive first-round defeats in Cincinnati and at the US Open, where he fell to Thiago Agustin Tirante and Mariano Navone.

Now, Djokovic is scheduled to return to the Beijing event for the first time in 11 years. It is a move that deserves recognition, because he continues to test himself on the ATP Tour and to do so at a tournament he has largely avoided in recent seasons. Yet it also places one of the most impressive records of his career in jeopardy.

Djokovic has never lost a match at the China Open. He has won the tournament every time he has played it, building a perfect 29-0 record at the event. That streak will be on the line in Beijing, and given the form he has shown lately, a first defeat there is a real possibility.

The field only raises the difficulty. Six players from the ATP Tour top 10 are set to compete, including Alexander Zverev, a returning Jannik Sinner, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli, and Alex de Minaur.

Djokovic’s decision looks especially bold when the Japan Open in Tokyo is available in the same week. Carlos Alcaraz is entered there, but only four members of the top 10 are in that draw, among them Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Taylor Fritz.

For that reason, the choice to go back to Beijing has the feel of something larger than a simple schedule call. Djokovic will also be expected to play the Shanghai Masters the following week, making for a busy stretch at the start of the ATP Tour’s Asian swing.

The China Open runs from 30 September to 6 October. For Djokovic, it may be a defining test of whether this is another push forward or a final, world-spanning farewell in progress.