Abu Dhabi Covets Spot On ATP World Tour Calendar

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 30th December 2013

Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Covets Spot On ATP World Tour Calendar

epa04002623 Novak Djokovic (L) of Serbia signs autographs after winning the final match against Spain's David Ferrer at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 28 December 2013. EPA/ALI HAIDER |

Despite its opulent budget which ensures the presence of most of the male tennis world’s megastar players, much to its frustration, the Mubadala World Tennis Championship remains nothing more than an exhibition tournament.

And while money may be no object, the long-term future of the event that began in 2009 is now open to debate. The organizers would dearly love Abu Dhabi to have its’ own place on the ATP World Tour calendar and there are even optimistic thoughts of the venue being the ultimate successor to London for the season ending World Tour Finals.(editors note: We have been to London for the year end championships. The set up there is the best! It should not be moved!)

Money, and highly lucrative guarantees are, of course, the major reason why a top class field is always guaranteed. This year, the tournament’s sixth in existence, six of the world’s top ten turned up to play, with part-time United Arab Emirates resident Roger Federer the most notable absentee.

World no.1 Rafael Nadal would love to see it become a full-sanctioned fixture on the ATP World Tour and said: “I really hope that’s an option. Abu Dhabi is a place that is all the time getting better and better.”

However politics plays its’ part and UAE neighbor Dubai (which stages both men’s and women’s events in February) and Doha, which this week holds the long-established Qatar ExxonMobil Open, are wary of another Arabian Gulf event taking away some of their prestige.

Plus the fact the current Zayed Sports City facility does not have a secondary match court capable of handling a crowd in excess of 300 spectators. However expansion and construction work has never been a problem in this part of the world.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is another fan of the event, which provides top-flight match conditions after an extended off-season. “This is the only competition outside the ATP to have five or six guys from the top 10, which is just incredible,” he said.

However the organizers have officially confirmed they have investigated every possible option for the future. These include all the price points involved, potential scheduling conflicts with other established tournaments, infrastructure issues and myriad other variables. Their findings have been to the title sponsors Mubadela, the UAE government owned company set up to strengthen Abu Dhabi’s growth potential that currently has a portfolio valued at more than US $55 billion.

It is understood that the thinking in some quarters is if the tournament expanded, there is no guarantee it would be anything other than diluted. The date for next year’s event has already been provisionally set for January 1-3, 2015 but much could happen before then.

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