A rollercoaster! Medvedev, Rublev, and Khachanov successfully depart and will compete in the Indian Wells Masters as scheduled.

Affected by the escalating tensions in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates once closed its airspace, causing numerous players and officials from the ATP500 Dubai event to be stuck locally. According to the latest news, the three Russian players: Medvedev, Rublev, and Khachanov, after much difficulty, arrived in Istanbul, Turkey in the early morning Beijing time today. They will soon transfer through Los Angeles to head to Indian Wells.

At least 41 players and tournament staff faced the same situation, including Griekspoor who withdrew from the final due to injury and several doubles players. The tournament organizers extended hotel stays, waiting for the airspace to reopen and flights to resume.

Medvedev wins the Dubai singles championship (Photo: Visual China)

Rublev's mother, Marina Marenko, revealed to foreign media reporters that the trio and their team members evacuated by land to Oman, a neighboring country of the UAE, and have already reached Istanbul, Turkey. They will then transfer to Los Angeles before finally heading to Indian Wells. As Oman is currently one of the few available exit routes with open borders, it caused traffic congestion at the border, but it remains the lowest-risk option at present.

Marenko also mentioned that everyone waited for quite a long time in Oman before successfully taking off. "The three players and their team were on a specially arranged flight, but for a long time, they were not permitted to depart." She added that the ATP might have assisted in coordinating this process.

On the official page of the Indian Wells tournament, Medvedev and Khachanov have already booked practice courts for the 4th local time. Medvedev reached the semifinals here last year, losing to Rune, and faces significant points to defend this year. However, the long journey is undoubtedly a major drain. Fortunately, as the 11th seed, he has a first-round bye, giving him extra time to rest and recover. Rublev and Khachanov also enjoy first-round byes and will additionally partner in the doubles competition.

Complete men's singles draw

In other news, the recently resumed Fujairah Challenger has been confirmed canceled. Portuguese player Frederico Silva, who was competing there, stated in an interview: "I kept hearing helicopters and jet planes flying overhead. It happened in previous days too, but today it was more frequent. During practice, we received public safety alerts on our phones saying nearby streets were blocked, and then we were told the tournament was canceled. Initially, I thought Fujairah was some distance from the incident, but then I realized it was only about 10 kilometers away. From the hotel room, you could even see smoke from explosions—though it was just debris from intercepted drones falling, it still felt very tense, as if it could happen again right near us."

We wish all players safe travels, good health, a smooth arrival at the tournament, and safe competition.

(Text and editing: Sunny)