The conflict in the Middle East has caused disruption of many sports competitions, like football games cancellations and fears of suspensions of Formula 1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. United Arab Emirates was also hit by explosions from Iranian airstrikes... causing the suspension of a Challenger tennis tournament in Fujairah.
The images showed how the players and officials left the tennis court running after explosions were heard in the distance. Everyone was evacuated from the site without reported incidents. Cameras even captured the eerie images of the tennis courts completely empty, with the graphics of the scoreboards still present in the image.
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The conflict has also caused some players to remain stranded in Dubai, including recent Dubai champion and finalist Daniil Medvedev and Tallon Griekspoor, as well as Holger Rune, recovering in Qatar from an injury. "The ATP is closely monitoring the evolving situation in the Middle East and remains in regular contact with our players, their support teams and relevant local authorities", said ATP in a statement to Reuters.
Those still trapped in those countries are being accommodated in the tournament's official hotels. Some are scheduled to play this week at Indian Wells, but may not make it in time before their first matches on the weekend, in the case of seeded players Medvedev and Rublev.