The plan was to write an article on the Dubai Open and the trip right after our 2024 trip, but it's almost time for the Dubai Open 2025 😬. So, this is quite a late post and my memories are not really fresh but the Dubai trip, especially the Dubai Open, will definitely stay close to my heart.
Touristy things will need a separate article, I will stick to just the Open for this one.
Dubai Open
Even though I follow almost all ATP tournaments of the season, be it 250s or grand slams, this was my first live Tennis tournament ever, and it was perfect!
The booking process was pretty straightforward. The official website https://dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com had every detail and the tickets were sold through ticketmaster.ae. Our vacation plan was from 21st February to 2nd March 2024 and below is our Dubai open schedule.
22nd Women's Quarter Finals
27th Men's Day 2
29th Men's Quarter Finals
The dates can change every year, so you may download the ATP/WTA calendar from their website and plan accordingly.
We got to see my favourites Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev (got their signed posters too) and Karen Kachanov, Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Bublik, Jakub Mesik, Rohan Bopanna and Sumit Nagal in men's, and Iga Swiàtek, Quinwen Zheng, queen Ostapenko, Marketa Vondrosova, etc in women's. Rybakina was also scheduled to play but dropped off right before the match due to injury (as of 2024 Oct, she's still battling with injuries :/ ). Nevertheless, we got to see her practice in the practice courts.
Also got to see Sania Mirza and she waved at us :D
Left to right: Iga Swiatek vs Quinwen Zheng, Karen Kachanov, Coco Gauff vs Anna Kalinskaya, ever graceful Daniil Medvedev, Markéta Vondroušová vs SoranaCîrstea, Elena Rybakina practicing.
Pro tip: Go for at least one early-round match to catch most players. I missed Andy Murray because he got out in R2. 😒 Saw his brother in doubles, though.
Also, except for centre courts, others are free-to-sit-anywhere with any tickets for the day. It’s first-come first-served basis.
The venue was at Dubai Tennis Stadium in the Irish Village and the nearest station was GGICO metro station. We got to know about the free shuttle service via the website, but the lady at the metro station had no clue about it and to be honest, was not really friendly as well. Luckily there was an Arab transport ministry officer outside the station and he informed me that there are shuttle buses just to the stadium every 15 minutes or so.
I wish the shuttle was available late into the night though, because the matches go on late into the night sometimes and we rely on public transport to Sharjah. The last metro was also only till around 23:00 and the last bus from Union to Sharjah was also only till around 00:05. Diera City Centre had fewer buses if I recall correctly. Overall Dubai and Sharjah public transport can be improved a lot. Even in Kerala, we get long-distance KSRTCs throughout the night.
Probably since this was my first ATP tournament, I was impressed with anything lol. But really, any seat is a good seat here. We sat at Prime B, Lower and Upper Grandstand. Good visibility from anywhere.
Among them, Prime B obviously gets you closest to the players and quicker to the lines for the signings but like I said, there are no bad seats. The prices were also very reasonable, especially when you compare them to some concerts and music festivals. I paid 90 AED for the Women's Quarterfinals and the rest, I got it free (BIL knows a guy, who knows a guy). I paid him back in Kerala banana chips. 😀
What struck me the most was how long the players stayed on to sign the autographs. Especially Karen Kachanov, Rublev, and Medvedev. They signed for almost everyone inside the stadium and also the stretch of people outside the stadium on their way back. Karen's was the first men's match I saw and introverted me couldn't go up to him in the stadium but I stayed on for Medvedev’s and Rublev’s outside the stadium and got theirs (multiple days just to be sure :D).
It gets really sunny during the day but freezing cold late nights. Unfortunately, they don't allow umbrellas inside the stadium (the only thing they check I guess) probably because of view obstruction or to avoid hindrance. Use the daily fixture sheets or the yearbook for shade.
They had some promotional events and games outside the stadium. The Grey Goose tennis one was pretty fun. They had 3 holes of different sizes and each hole had a point (15,30,40). We had to volley and get a score of 70 with 3 chances. I won twice on different days (they don't remember who participated ;) ) and won 2 caps with Dubai Open and Grey Goose logo. They also had lots of souvenir shops and regular and non-regular Irish village shops for food. They even had a stall for the Dubai duty-free. I already plan to get a DJI Action 4, so got it from here and got a tax refund at the airport. FYI, they have no restrictions for cameras in the stadium.
Some LPT to save some dirhams:
1. There are some stores right outside the stadium, if you walk a bit, for snacks, food, and knick-knacks.
2. Ask for water and some staff might help with a few bottles. Always carry a bottle to avoid plastic waste anyway.
3. If you’re not alone, split after the game to outside the stadium as well to maximise the chances for autographs.
4. Friday hours might be different, check this ahead.
5. Water metro is useless (Kochi water metro FTW).
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PS: Sharjah to Dubai needs a metro. ASAP.
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