The first clue that this week would be different didn’t happen on a tennis court—it appeared on my phone.
The last session of this year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships was ending on a quiet note, as Daniil Medvedev took his second title of the year in a walkover against Tallon Griekspoor, who had to withraw with a leg injury sustained in his semifinal match. As we were all assembled on the grounds, a loud alert blared from everyone’s pockets. The alarm was impossible to ignore. Its message was simple: hide in shelters.
At that moment, tennis was no longer the main focus. Still, at the venue in Dubai, nothing seemed to change. Inside the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, it felt like the world was closed off. Matches continued. People laughed. Families walked through the village with their children. The outside courts were busy. From the stands, it looked like a city having fun, not one dealing with missile alerts and airport closures.