Tennis players flee court as Iran strike causes fire in UAE

2026-03-03 - 16:17

Players and officials ran from the court at an ATP Challenger event in the United Arab Emirates when an Iranian drone attack led to a fire breaking out at an oil terminal located about 10km away, BBC reported. Read Also: Israel, US strike building that hosts new Iran supreme leader’s election Two matches were stopped in Fujairah – which is about 90 miles south-east of Dubai – shortly after the city’s port was targeted on Tuesday morning. The ATP later confirmed play was cancelled for the rest of the day. A live feed on the ATP website showed Japan’s Hayato Matsuoka and Russia’s Daniil Ostapenkov, along with the umpire and line judges, dash off court early in the third set. Tournament officials could be heard shouting instructions to leave the court. “Relevant authorities responded to a fire that broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, resulting from falling debris following the successful interception of a drone by air defence systems,” the Government of Fujairah media office said in a statement. Iranian drone and missile attacks have been fired towards the UAE over the past three days, in response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Defence teams were still “working to contain the incident”, the statement added. No injuries were reported. “The health, safety and wellbeing of our players, staff and tournament personnel is our priority,” the ATP told BBC Sport. “Following consultation with local authorities and security advisers, 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.” On Monday, the ATP confirmed the Fujairah tournament was going ahead as planned after holding discussions with the local government about its viability. The men’s governing body had been told it was safe to proceed, with extra security measures put in place and the event being held behind closed doors. British players Max Basing and Zach Stephens are among the players in the draw. Around 40 players, team members, officials and media remain stranded in Dubai. BBC Vanguard News