Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023 Tournament Preview

February 9, 2023

ATP Tennis Players, Tennis News, Tennis Tournaments, WTA Tennis Players

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2023 Tournament Preview

The 2023 tennis season is preparing to take to the Middle East for the highly anticipated men’s and women’s tournaments in Dubai, with the world’s best players all wanting to claim one of the biggest titles on the tour.

Join Tennishead as we tell you everything you need to know ahead of this year’s Dubai Duty Free Championships.

Dates

The tournament is split over two weeks with the women’s event, which is a WTA 1000, kicking things off. The main draw takes place between the 19th February and the 25th February.

The men’s event, which has a smaller field due to it being an ATP 500, follows with the main draw beginning on the 27th February and coming to a close on the 4th March.

Players competing at the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships

The men’s singles draw has a packed lineup, with Novak Djokovic and 2022 winner Andrey Rublev leading the field. While Rafael Nadal remains in the entry list, his withdrawal is inevitable after suffering a grade two injury to his iliopsoas at the Australian Open.

Andy Murray has received the first wildcard for the event, with the 2017 Dubai Tennis Championships winner looking to push on from his vintage performances in Melbourne.

Entries
Seed	Name	Current Ranking	Entry Ranking
1	Novak Djokovic	1	1
2	Andrey Rublev	5	5
3	Rafael Nadal	6	6
4	Felix Auger-Aliassime	7	7
5	Hubert Hurkacz	10	10
6	Daniil Medvedev	12	12
7	Karen Khachanov	13	13
8	Pablo Carreno Busta	15	16
	Alexander Zverev	16	14
	Marin Cilic	21	21
	Borna Coric	23	23
	Roberto Bautista Agut	24	24
	Daniel Evans	30	30
	Alejandro Davidovich Fokina	32	32
	Botic van de Zandschulp	35	35
	Jiri Lehecka	37	39
	Jack Draper	38	40
	Benjamin Bonzi	42	45
	Constant Lestienne	48	52
	Alexander Bublik	50	36
	Emil Ruusuvuori	53	43
	Lorenzo Sonego	56	51
	(WC) Andy Murray	61
	Lloyd Harris	155	47 (PR)
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We are delighted to announce that former World No.1 and Olympic gold medalist @andy_murray will compete at this year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships!

Fresh from his heroics at the Australian Open, the two-time Wimbledon champion will return to the Middle East this month! pic.twitter.com/NC0S46SPoe
— Dubai Tennis Champs (@DDFTennis) February 7, 2023

The women’s event alternates with Doha every year, over which is a WTA 1000 or a WTA 500. This year it’s the turn of the Dubai Tennis Championships to headline, with 18 of the WTA top 20 singles players competing in the United Arab Emirates.

The winner of the WTA 500 event last year, Jelena Ostapenko, is in the field but No.3 Ons Jabeur has had to withdraw from the event where she is so popular, due to injury.

Entries
Seed	Name	Current Ranking	Entry Ranking
1	Iga Swiatek	1	1
2	Aryna Sabalenka	2	5
3	Jessica Pegula	4	3
4	Caroline Garcia	5	4
5	Coco Gauff	6	7
6	Maria Sakkari	7	6
7	Daria Kasatkina	8	8
8	Belinda Bencic	9	10
9	Elena Rybakina	10	25
10	Veronika Kudermetova	11	9
11	Jelena Ostapenko	12	17
12	Petra Kvitova	13	15
13	Beatriz Haddad Maia	14	14
14	Victoria Azarenka	16	24
15	Ekaterina Alexandrova	17	18
16	Anett Kontaveit	18	19
	Liudmila Samsonova	19	20
	Karolina Pliskova	20	31
	Paula Badosa	21	16
	Shuai Zhang	23	22
	Madison Keys	24	13
	Martina Trevisan	25	21
	Marie Bouzkova	26	26
	Irina-Camelia Begu	27	30
	Jil Teichmann	28	33
	Qinwen Zheng	29	28
	Barbora Krejcikova	30	23
	Anhelina Kalinina	31	39
	Petra Martic	34	37
	Amanda Anisimova	36	27
	Bianca Andreescu	37	43
	Aliaksandra Sasnovich	38	38
	Leylah Fernandez	39	40
	Danielle Collins	42	11
	Bernarda Pera	43	41
	Anastasia Potapova	44	44
	Yulia Putintseva	45	47
	Kaia Kanepi	48	29
	Alizé Cornet	60	34
	Sorana Cirstea	63	42
	Marketa Vondrousova	89	32 (SR)
	Karolina Muchova	121	22 (SR)
	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	844	21 (SR)
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	(WC) Top 20
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Previous Winners

The men’s event has been running since 1993, and no-one has won it more than Roger Federer with eight titles to his name. Novak Djokovic is the closest to him with five victories in Dubai, and the Serb will be looking to close the gap this year with Federer now retired.

Here are the last five winners of the ATP Dubai Tennis Championships:

Year	Winner
2018	Roberto Bautista Agut
2019	Roger Federer
2020	Novak Djokovic
2021	Aslan Karatsev
2022	Andrey Rublev

The women’s event began eight years later in 2001, with Justine Henin leading the race with four titles.

Here are the last five winners of the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships:

Year	Winner
2018	Elina Svitolina
2019	Belinda Bencic
2020	Simona Halep
2021	Garbine Muguruza
2022	Jelena Ostapenko

Where are the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships held?

The tournament is held on the outdoor hard courts at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai.

Where to watch the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships?

Both events are available to watch on Amazon Prime Video UK.

Ranking points breakdown

Event	W	F	SF	QF	Round of 16	Round of 32	Round of 56	Q	Q2	Q1
Men’s singles	500	300	180	90	45	0	—	20	10	0
Men’s doubles	500	300	180	90	0	—	—	45	25	0
Women’s singles	900	585	350	190	105	60	1	30	20	1
Women’s doubles	900	585	350	190	105	1	—	—	—	—

Prize money breakdown

Event	W	F	SF	QF	Round of 16	Round of 32	Round of 56	Q2	Q1
Men’s singles	$523,330	$256,565	$129,100	$65,655	$34,100	$17,980	—	$3,980	$2,030
Men’s doubles*	$157,570	$77,140	$38,690	$19,860	$10,270	—	—	—	—
Women’s singles	$520,615	$260,310	$130,030	$59,960	$29,695	$15,240	$7,835	$4,360	$2,245
Women’s doubles*	$148,845	$75,310	$37,275	$18,765	$9,510	$4,695	—	—	—