Falling particles from a drone interception prompts halt to play on the Fujairah Challenger occasion on the UAE’s Gulf coast.
Revealed On 3 Mar 2026
An ATP Challenger tennis match within the United Arab Emirates was interrupted after a “safety alert” linked to Iranian strikes on targets in the Gulf region, launched in response to assaults by the USA and Israel.
Falling particles from the interception of a drone on Tuesday brought about a fireplace in an oilfield positioned about 15km (9 miles) from the positioning of the match on the boys’s second-tier world circuit.
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Play within the Fujairah Challenger occasion in Fujairah, a metropolis on the UAE’s japanese Gulf coast, was suspended according to established safety protocols, earlier than being cancelled for the rest of the day.
“Following session with native authorities and safety advisors, play has been cancelled for the rest of the day as a precautionary measure,” the ATP mentioned in a press release.
A video on social media confirmed two gamers, Belarusian Daniil Ostapenkov and Japan’s Hayato Matsuoka, scrambling for shelter after a public announcement.
“I simply completed my match in Fujairah, second spherical, however the play is suspended for at present,” Ukrainian participant Vladyslav Orlov mentioned on Instagram. “Once I was taking part in, I heard the sound of the jets flying right here and there. And there’s smoke right here, subsequent to the mountain, so not very protected right here proper now.”
Iran has launched missiles and drones at a number of international locations across the Center East in response to US-Israeli assaults which have killed at the very least 787 folks throughout Iran since Saturday, based on the Iranian Crimson Crescent Society.
The Iranian assaults have more and more focused oil and fuel infrastructure within the Gulf, prompting considerations about disruptions to world power markets.
Additionally they have spurred condemnation from international locations within the area, together with the UAE, which on Tuesday described the firings from Iran as “blatant aggression and a grave violation of nationwide sovereignty and worldwide legislation”.
The UAE intercepted 186 Iranian missiles since February 28 when the US-Israeli assaults on Iran began, based on the nation’s Defence Ministry statement.
“Of those, 172 missiles had been destroyed, 13 fell into the ocean, and one missile landed on the nation’s territory,” the ministry mentioned, including that 755 Iranian drones had been intercepted whereas 57 fell inside UAE territory.
A minimum of three folks have been killed within the UAE because of the assaults to date whereas 68 others suffered minor accidents, the ministry mentioned.
“The Ministry … affirmed that the UAE reserves its full proper to reply to this escalation and to take all vital measures to guard its territory, residents and residents, in a way that safeguards its sovereignty, safety and stability, and protects its nationwide pursuits and capabilities.”
