Dubai: After almost a quarter of a century of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Tournament Director Salah Tahlak believes Dubai is ready to give something back to the tennis world.
The emirate has hosted its ATP Men’s Open every year since 1993, while the WTA women’s event on Saturday completed its 15th edition. Owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free — whose employees are heavily involved during the fortnight of the championships — the event is well received, with the men’s event voted the ATP’s best tournament ten times in the past 11 years. The competition was also the first outside of the Grand Slams to offer prize money parity to the women.
As well as being Tournament Director, Tahlak is also a member of both the prestigious WTA Global Tournament Council Board and the ATP Global Tournament Council. And he believes that the concept of ‘Franchise Dubai’ will allow other tournaments worldwide to benefit from the UAE’s experience.
“We have evolved as an entity,” he told Gulf News. “We have been consistently doing something right.
“There are certain aspects surrounding the organisation that we have perfected over a period of time — things like seating arrangements at the stadium or simplified visa procedures for players and their families. And now, to ensure the entire tennis world reaps the benefits, I feel we can offer these good practices as ‘Franchise Dubai’.
“Both Doha and Dubai have invested huge amounts of money in tennis and it is during such meetings [of the governing bodies] that everyone has a voice and we need to use this voice not only to make an impression but also ensure tennis has a say from this part of the world.
“Dubai has something to offer to the ATP and the WTA and to the world of tennis. We have started from scratch and learnt from these experiences. Now it is time for us to give something back to the sport.”
One of the plus points of the Dubai tournament, according to Tahlak, is the fact that seats are unreserved, meaning fans can take up the best positions on a first come, first served basis.
“Other tournaments have specific timings, while we are on call 24/7,” Tahlak said. “We also have free seating and that rewards fans who take the trouble of coming early for matches every day. Officials from a few other tournaments have asked me how we manage this free seating and I explain to them the advantages and the time saved while trying to find a specific seat.”
