The 2009 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the

2009 ATP World Tour The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 2009 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF ...

and a Premier 5 event on the

2009 WTA Tour 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

. Both of the events took place at The Aviation Club Tennis Centre in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, United Arab Emirates. The women's tournament took place from 15 to 21 February 2009, while the men's tournament will take from 23 to 28 February 2009. The men's draw was led by only 3 of the world's Top 10 men: ATP No. 3

Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

champion Andy Murray and ATP No. 8

Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. He had a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 6 attained on 5 January 2009. He turned professional in 2002 and won 14 singles titles on the ATP Tour. ...

. Australian Open runner-up and four-time champion

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...

was scheduled to take part, however he was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a back injury. ATP No. 1,

finalist, 2006 titlist & recent Australian Open champion

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...

was also due to compete but was also forced to withdraw from the event due to a knee injury sustained at the previous event in Rotterdam. Defending champion

Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...

withdrew from the event due to the Shahar Pe'er incident and chose not to defend his title as a protest.

Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...

and

Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...

were also scheduled to play but withdrew due to injuries. In the women's event, nine of the ten highest ranked players participated. The top four seeds were

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

, the

2009 Australian Open The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 Jan ...

champion,

Dinara Safina Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the ...

, the 2009 Australian Open runner-up,

Jelena Janković Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...

, a former World No. 1, and

Elena Dementieva Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. ...

, the runner-up at the recent Open GDF SUEZ tournament in Paris. Also in the field were

Vera Zvonareva Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲɛrə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian professional tennis player. She was introduced to tennis at ...

, a 2009 Australian Open semifinalist and winner of the recent Pattaya Women's Open,

Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...

, the reigning Wimbledon champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Ana Ivanovic.

Shahar Pe'er controversy

The tournament became embroiled in controversy when the Dubai government refused to grant a

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

to Israeli player

Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er ( he, שחר פאר, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player. Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. She reached ...

, denying her the ability to take part in the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships. The refusal to allow Pe'er to participate drew immense criticism from top seed players. WTA chief executive Larry Scott said the women's tour was "deeply disappointed" by the decision. "Ms. Pe'er has earned the right to play in the tournament and it's regrettable that the UAE is denying her this right", he said. "Ms. Peer and her family are obviously extremely upset and disappointed by the decision of the UAE and its impact on her personally and professionally." Scott said the WTA would "review appropriate future actions with regard to the future of the Dubai tournament". In reaction to the move, the

Tennis Channel Tennis Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of ...

decided not to televise the event, and ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' dropped its sponsorship. In response to the move by the UAE, the Dubai Tennis Championship was fined a record US$300,000. Pe'er was awarded US$44,250, an amount equal to the average prize money she earned per tournament in 2008. A number of highly ranked tennis players, including 2008 winner

, pulled out of the men's ATP tournament in Dubai in protest.

and

also pulled out of the tournament, although they both cited injury as their reason for withdrawal, not the incident involving Pe'er. The WTA Tour Board also demanded that Dubai organizers confirm that qualifying Israeli players will get visas at least eight weeks in advance for the 2010 even

WTA entrants

Seeds

*Rankings as of 16 February 2009.

Other entrants

The following players received Wild card (sports), wildcards into the main draw: *

Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she has won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles i ...

Vera Dushevina Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina ( rus, Вера Евгеньевна Душевина; born 6 October 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won one singles title and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour. As a junior, she won the ...

Stefanie Vögele Stefanie Vögele (born 10 March 1990) is a former professional Swiss tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 42 on 11 November 2013. Her highest WTA ranking in doubles is 100, which she reached on 5 January 2015. O ...

The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: *

Anastasia Rodionova Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

Urszula Radwańska Urszula Radwańska (; born 7 December 1990) is a Polish professional tennis player. Radwańska has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as seven singles and ten doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 8 October 2012, she reached ...

Anna Lapushchenkova Anna Alexandrovna Lapushchenkova (; born 24 October 1986) is a former Russian tennis player. Career Lapushchenkova began competing occasionally on the ITF Women's Circuit in October 2002, shortly before her 16th birthday. She started to compet ...

Julia Schruff Julia Schruff (born 16 August 1982) is a retired professional German tennis player. Career Her career high WTA-ranking was attained on 17 April 2006, when she reached No. 52. Her highest doubles ranking was reached on 2 October 2006, when sh ...

Elena Vesnina Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon Cha ...

Viktoriya Kutuzova Viktoriya Kutuzova ( uk, Вікторія Кутузова, born 19 August 1988) is a former tennis player from Ukraine. On 28 November 2005, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 76. Career Even though considered a potential ...

Tamira Paszek Tamira Shelah Paszek (born 6 December 1990) is an Austrian tennis player. Paszek has won three singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and four doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She realized her greatest success so far ...

* Yan Zi The following players received the lucky loser spots: *

Ayumi Morita is a Japanese tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of number 40 in the world in October 2011. At junior level, she reached a combined career-high ranking of world No. 3. Morita is known for strong and consistent two-handed grounds ...

Andreja Klepač Andreja Klepač (born 13 March 1986) is a professional Slovenian tennis player. On 14 July 2008, Klepač reached her career-high singles rankings of world No. 99. On 11 April 2022, she peaked at No. 11 in the WTA doubles rankings. Career She ha ...

* Camille Pin

ATP entrants

Seeds

*Rankings as of 23 February 2009.

Other entrants

The following players received wildcards into the main draw: *

Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...

Andreas Seppi Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces. Tennis ca ...

* Mohammed Ghareeb The following players received entry from the qualifying draw: * Flavio Cipolla *

Laurent Recouderc Laurent Recouderc is a professional tennis player from France. He was born 10 July 1984 in Toulouse. Career On the junior circuit, Recouderc had defeated Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former profession ...

Marco Chiudinelli Marco Chiudinelli (born 10 September 1981) is a retired tennis player from Switzerland. A member of Switzerland's winning 2014 Davis Cup squad, he reached his highest singles ranking of 52 in February 2010 during a career that was often hindered ...

Michael Lammer Michael Lammer (born 25 March 1982) is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. At the 2009 Allianz Suisse Open in Gstaad, he won the doubles tournament with compatriot Marco Chiudinelli. It was his only ATP tour title.

The following player received the lucky loser spot: *

Rik de Voest Rik de Voest (born 5 June 1980) is a former professional South African tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 110 in August 2006. Rik resides in Vancouver, Canada where he pursues a career in real estate. De V ...

Finals

Men's singles

defeated

David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour ( ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...

7–5, 6–3 * It was Djokovic's first title of the year and 12th of his career.

Women's singles

defeated

Virginie Razzano Virginie Razzano (born 12 May 1983) is a former French professional tennis player. She won two WTA Tour singles titles, both of them in 2007. Razzano reached her career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 16 on 14 September 2009. She represen ...

6–4, 6–2 *It was Venus' first title of the year and 40th of her career.

Men's doubles

Dmitry Tursunov Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov (; born 12 December 1982) is a retired Russian tennis player and current tennis coach. At age 12 he moved to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player. His career-high singl ...

defeated

Martin Damm Martin Damm Sr. (born 1 August 1972) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known as a doubles player (his highest ranking being No. 5 in the world in April 2007). His highest singles ranking was No. 42 in A ...

Robert Lindstedt Robert Lindstedt (born 19 March 1977) is a Swedish former professional tennis player who specialized in doubles. He turned professional in 1998, and reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 in May 2013. Lindstedt won his first Grand ...

4–6, 6–3, 0–5

Women's doubles

Cara Black Cara Cavell Black (born 17 February 1979) is a Zimbabwean former professional tennis player. Black was primarily a doubles specialist, winning 60 WTA Tour and 11 ITF doubles titles. A former doubles world No. 1, she won ten major titles. By ...

Liezel Huber Liezel Huber (née Horn; born 21 August 1976) is a South African-American retired tennis player who represented the United States internationally since August 2007. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Blac ...

defeated

Maria Kirilenko Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲɛnkə ; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the 2002 US Open a ...

Agnieszka Radwańska Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player. She won 20 career singles WTA Tour titles, two doubles titles, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 on 9 July 2012. Her achiev ...

6–3, 6–3

References

External links

Official website
{{2009 WTA Tour 2009

Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships or Dubai Open (also known as the ''Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships'' for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's ...