The Challenger Series tennis tournament in the emirate of Fujairah was halted after debris from a drone fell near the court. The organizers evacuated players and staff to hotels, L'Equipe reports.
The Challenger in Fujairah is being held against the backdrop of heightened security in the Middle East. Despite the UAE's geographical proximity to conflict zones, the competition began on schedule, and Monday's matches were played without any violations of the regulations.
Update: The tournament organizers have announced that the tournament has been canceled. The ATP is currently organizing a charter flight for the players from the Omani capital, Muscat.
On Tuesday, March 3, during the three matches of the match day, air defense systems intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone's debris fell into the territory of a nearby oil field, causing an explosion and fire in the immediate vicinity of the tennis complex.
The referees immediately suspended the games, and everyone present on the courts was evacuated to the official tournament hotel.
“The drone crashed into some oil tank. Behind it we saw helicopters arriving and so on. We are trying to get back, but there is no one to contact; it seems like it is a complete mess. I wouldn't say it is panic, but people are starting to get stressed; you can feel how close it is. We are not used to this atmosphere, we are less than 50 kilometers from Iran. Now we just hope to get home,” – this is how coach Jean-René Lisnar describes the situation.
Ukrainian tennis player Vladislav Orlov is also at the tournament. He managed to finish his match before the tournament was completely stopped: in the final of the qualification he defeated American Ronit Karki with a score of 6:3, 7:5, securing a place in the main draw. However, immediately after the game, the athlete reported that he heard the sounds of military aircraft during the match, and later all players received an official notification about the suspension of the competition.
“I just finished the match here in Fujairah, but the games have been suspended for today. We all got emails… In general, the shelling started ten kilometers from here. We all got the message, and I heard everything myself just during the game – the sound of fighter jets flying back and forth. And there, over the mountain, there's smoke. It's not very safe here right now.”
According to Vladislav Orlov, at this moment there is no clear information regarding the continuation of the current competitions, but decisions regarding future tournaments in the region have already been made.