Players flee court in UAE after sirens warn of drone debris causing nearby fire

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.

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.

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.

Former world number one Daniil Medvedev and British doubles player Henry Patten were among those unable to leave after the Dubai Tennis Championships when airspace was closed in the region at the weekend.

All scheduled flights remain suspended, with only a limited number of planes – prioritising passengers with earlier bookings and those in transit through Dubai – taking off.

The possibility of the players driving out of Dubai and hiring private jets from neighbouring Oman has been explored over the past few days.