Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on outdoor hardcourts.
The tournament takes place at the end of February and organizes a men's and women's event. The tournament takes place under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. In 2001 the ATP upgraded the tournament from a 250 level to a more prestigious 500 level tournament. Prior to the 1990s there was an annual Dubai Tennis Championship played at the British Embassy.
The Dubai Tennis Championships is the third tournament in pro tennis history to award equal prize money for both men and women.
The courts usually have a medium-fast speed considered to be similar in speed to the Shanghai and Swiss Indoor courts.
History
The Dubai Tennis Championships debuted at the Aviation Club in 1993 as an ATP 250 tournament. At the time there was no formal stadium and the tournament was hosted on hardcourts surrounded by temporary scaffold seating to host a total of 3000 viewers across all courts.In 1996, the Dubai Tennis Championships took place at the newly erected Dubai Tennis Stadium at the Aviation Club. The construction of the Dubai Tennis Stadium also led to the development of various food & beverage entertainment locations in and around the stadium base, like the Irish and Century Villages. In 2012, a 293-bedroom hotel was constructed on-site that hosts many of the players and officials during the 2 week event.
The inaugural ATP men's tournament was won by Karel Nováček in 1993 who was ranked world number 23 at the time. The inaugural WTA women's tournament debuted in 2001 as a Premier tournament and was won by Martina Hingis.
For five years, Swiss Roger Federer, on the men's side, and Belgian Justine Henin, on the women's side, dominated the singles' tournaments. Between 2003 and 2007, Federer and Henin each won the singles title four times. However, in 2008, neither player managed to reach the finals; Andy Roddick and Elena Dementieva became the new champions. Currently, the reigning champions are Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep.
In 2005, the Dubai Tennis Championships implemented equal prize money policy becoming the third professional tennis event to do so after the US Open and Australian Open.
2009 Shahar Pe'er visa controversy
In February 2009, Israeli player Shahar Pe'er was denied an entry visa by the United Arab Emirates, a country that does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Tournament director Salah Tahlak said that Pe'er was refused on the grounds that her appearance could incite anger in the Arab country, after she had already faced protests earlier at the ASB Classic over the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. A number of top-seeded players, among them Venus Williams, condemned the action not to grant Pe'er a visa.In response, the Dubai Tennis Championship was fined a record US$300,000. The fine was appealed by DTC, but the WTA Tour Board rejected the appeal. Pe'er was awarded a guarantee to enter the next edition of the event, plus US$44,250, an amount equal to the average prize money she earned per tournament in 2008. A number of highly ranked tennis players, including 2008 winner Andy Roddick, pulled out of the men's event which was scheduled to take place the week after the women's event. As a result, the UAE issued Israeli Andy Ram a visa for the men's tournament.
Past finals
In the men's singles, Roger Federer holds the records for most titles, most finals, and most consecutive titles, sharing the last record with Novak Djokovic. In the women's singles, Justine Henin holds the record for most titles and shares with Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina the record for most consecutive titles. In men's doubles, Mahesh Bhupathi has won the most overall titles, and co-holds with Grant Connell the record for most consecutive titles. In women's doubles, Liezel Huber took the most titles and, alongside partner Cara Black, the most back-to-back titles.Men's singles
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
| 1993 |  Karel Nováček |  Fabrice Santoro | 6–4, 7–5 |
| 1994 |  Magnus Gustafsson |  Sergi Bruguera | 6–4, 6–2 |
| 1995 |  Wayne Ferreira |  Andrea Gaudenzi | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 1996 |  Goran Ivanišević | Albert Costa | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 1997 |  Thomas Muster | Goran Ivanišević | 7–5, 7–6 |
| 1998 | Àlex Corretja | Félix Mantilla | 7–6, 6–1 |
| 1999 | Jérôme Golmard |  Nicolas Kiefer | 6–4, 6–2 |
| 2000 | Nicolas Kiefer | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 |
| 2001 | Juan Carlos Ferrero |  Marat Safin | 6–2, 3–1 retired |
| 2002 | Fabrice Santoro |  Younes El Aynaoui | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
| 2003 |  Roger Federer | Jiří Novák | 6–1, 7–6 |
| 2004 | Roger Federer | Feliciano López | 4–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| 2005 | Roger Federer | Ivan Ljubičić | 6–1, 6–7, 6–3 |
| 2006 | Rafael Nadal | Roger Federer | 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2007 | Roger Federer | Mikhail Youzhny | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 2008 |  Andy Roddick | Feliciano López | 6–7, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 2009 |  Novak Djokovic | David Ferrer | 7–5, 6–3 |
| 2010 | Novak Djokovic | Mikhail Youzhny | 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 |
| 2011 | Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 2012 | Roger Federer |  Andy Murray | 7–5, 6–4 |
| 2013 | Novak Djokovic | Tomáš Berdych | 7–5, 6–3 |
| 2014 | Roger Federer | Tomáš Berdych | 3–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| 2015 | Roger Federer | Novak Djokovic | 6–3, 7–5 |
| 2016 | Stan Wawrinka |  Marcos Baghdatis | 6–4, 7–6 |
| 2017 | Andy Murray | Fernando Verdasco | 6–3, 6–2 |
| 2018 | Roberto Bautista Agut | Lucas Pouille | 6–3, 6–4 |
| 2019 | Roger Federer |  Stefanos Tsitsipas | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2020 | Novak Djokovic | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 6–3, 6–4 |
Women's singles
Men's doubles
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Score |
| 1993 |  John Fitzgerald Anders Järryd |  Grant Connell Patrick Galbraith | 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1994 | Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde | Darren Cahill John Fitzgerald | 6–7, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 1995 | Grant Connell Patrick Galbraith | Tomás Carbonell Francisco Roig | 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
| 1996 | Grant Connell  Byron Black | Karel Nováček Jiří Novák | 6–0, 6–1 |
| 1997 |  Sander Groen Goran Ivanišević | Sandon Stolle Cyril Suk | 7–6, 6–3 |
| 1998 |  Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes | Donald Johnson Francisco Montana | 6–2, 7–5 |
| 1999 | Wayne Black Sandon Stolle | David Adams John-Laffnie de Jager | 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| 2000 | Jiří Novák David Rikl | Robbie Koenig Peter Tramacchi | 6–2, 7–5 |
| 2001 | Joshua Eagle Sandon Stolle | Daniel Nestor  Nenad Zimonjić | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2002 |  Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | Joshua Eagle Sandon Stolle | 3–6, 6–3, |
| 2003 | Leander Paes David Rikl | Wayne Black Kevin Ullyett | 6–3, 6–0 |
| 2004 | Mahesh Bhupathi Fabrice Santoro | Jonas Björkman Leander Paes | 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 |
| 2005 | Martin Damm Radek Štěpánek | Jonas Björkman Fabrice Santoro | 6–2, 6–4 |
| 2006 | Paul Hanley Kevin Ullyett | Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 1–6, 6–2, |
| 2007 | Fabrice Santoro Nenad Zimonjić | Mahesh Bhupathi Radek Štěpánek | 7–5, 6–7, |
| 2008 | Mahesh Bhupathi Mark Knowles | Martin Damm Pavel Vízner | 7–5, 7–6 |
| 2009 | Rik de Voest Dmitry Tursunov | Martin Damm Robert Lindstedt | 4–6, 6–3, |
| 2010 | Simon Aspelin Paul Hanley | Lukáš Dlouhý Leander Paes | 6–2, 6–3 |
| 2011 |  Sergiy Stakhovsky Mikhail Youzhny | Jérémy Chardy Feliciano López | 4–6, 6–3, |
| 2012 | Mahesh Bhupathi Rohan Bopanna |  Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski | 6–4, 3–6, |
| 2013 | Mahesh Bhupathi Michaël Llodra | Robert Lindstedt Nenad Zimonjić | 7–6, 7–6 |
| 2014 | Rohan Bopanna  Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi | Daniel Nestor Nenad Zimonjić | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 2015 | Rohan Bopanna Daniel Nestor | Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi Nenad Zimonjić | 6–4, 6–1 |
| 2016 | Simone Bolelli Andreas Seppi | Feliciano López Marc López | 6–2, 3–6, |
| 2017 | Jean-Julien Rojer  Horia Tecău | Rohan Bopanna Marcin Matkowski | 4–6, 6–3, |
| 2018 | Jean-Julien Rojer Horia Tecău | James Cerretani Leander Paes | 6–2, 7–6 |
| 2019 | Rajeev Ram Joe Salisbury |  Ben McLachlan Jan-Lennard Struff | 7–6, 6–3 |
| 2020 | John Peers  Michael Venus | Raven Klaasen Oliver Marach | 6–3, 6–2 |