Tennis greats Roger Federer and Andre Agassi playing a friendly match hundreds of feet high in the air! Incredible but true - they tossed a few volleys on the round helipad on top of Dubai’s luxurious Burj Al Arab hotel. Tennis is one of the major Dubai sports, which attracts people to visit Dubai. It has evolved from a fitness game of the middle and the upper classes to the highly competitive championship sports. A large number of tennis courts have sprung all over Dubai and a tourist or a businessperson who travel to Dubai are never far away from their routine fitness regimen if it includes tennis.
Tournaments
Among Dubai sports, the most famous is the 1.5 million $ ATP tournament – the Dubai Tennis Championships held every February for men and women. Top ranked tennis players in the world like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal travel to Dubai to take part in this prestigious tournament. Al Habtoor Tennis challenge is another tournament that draws women to visit Dubai and the ITF junior circuit for under 17s. There are several other tournaments held right through the year at the local level.
Tennis courts
Tourists who visit Dubai can enjoy tennis in some of the hotels, resorts and clubs that have excellent tennis courts. Habtoor Grand Resort & Spa, Hyatt Regency, Jebel Ali Gold Resort & Spa Club, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Madinat Jumeirah, Radisson SAS Deira, Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort & Towers, Le Meridien and Ritz-Carlton etc are some of the places that have fabulous tennis courts.
Academies/Clubs
With tennis gaining immense popularity in Dubai sports, several tennis schools/academies have come up in the recent years and are gaining popularity among parents to get their wards interested in professional tennis. Some of the tennis schools/academies/clubs where good coaching facility is available are listed below. Even tourists on a visit to Dubai can avail of the facilities offered at some of these clubs.
The Aviation Club Tennis Centre
This popular club’s famous Dubai Tennis Stadium plays host to the Dubai Tennis Championships every year since 1993. The club is open to public on a visit to Dubai except during the tournament. The club has regular tennis coaches to help novices and is a popular activity centre for youngsters.
Contact address: The Aviation Club, P.O.Box 55400, Dubai. Tel: 04-2824122, Fax 04-2824751. For further information contact info@aviationclub.ae.
Dubai Tennis Academy
The Dubai Tennis Academy (DTA) is another prominent icon among Dubai sports. The popular tennis club boasts of world class coaching facilities. Fun-filled and dynamic programmes are available to cater to the needs of beginners as well as advanced, young or old. Contact: A visit to Dubai reveals that the DTA now has tennis courts in two places:
- The American University in Dubai, Media city, Tel: +97143994539
- Dubai Men’s College, Academic City Road, Tel: +971502868025.
Dubai Sports City
The David Lloyd Tennis Academy at the Dubai Sports Centre aims to nurture and develop tennis skills among children. Youngsters enrolling at the academy can look forward to an environment conducive to hone their talent and move forward to realize their dreams of playing professional tennis.
Contact address: Emirate Road, P.O.Box: 111123, Dubai. Tel: +97144251111 Fax: +97144251100. Email - info@sc.ae.
DUET
The Dubai United Expat Tennis (DUET) is a group of over 200 multinational expatriate tennis players that welcomes players looking for a game of tennis while on a visit to Dubai.
Contact address: DUET, Safa Park, Dubai; Tel No: 050-5076621.
There are several other individual-run academies in Dubai. Some of them are:
- Excel Sports, Dubai – Tel; 050-7943656
- Etisalat Academy and Recreation Club, Dubai: 04-2226842
- Tennis Training Centre, Midriff (in association with the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy): Tel: 04-2880535.
- Super Sports, Dubai – Tel: 04-3994826
- Match Point Tennis Academy – Tel: 050-6591311.