Falling particles from a drone interception prompts halt to play on the Fujairah Challenger occasion on the UAE’s Gulf coast.
Printed 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 within the Gulf area, launched in response to assaults by the USA and Israel.
Falling particles from the interception of a drone on Tuesday induced a fireplace in an oilfield situated about 15km (9 miles) from the positioning of the match on the lads’s second-tier world circuit.
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Play within the Fujairah Challenger occasion in Fujairah, a metropolis on the UAE’s jap Gulf coast, was suspended consistent with 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 stated in an announcement.
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 right now,” Ukrainian participant Vladyslav Orlov stated on Instagram. “After I was enjoying, 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 secure right here proper now.”
Iran has launched missiles and drones at a number of nations across the Center East in response to US-Israeli assaults which have killed at the very least 787 folks throughout Iran since Saturday, in response to the Iranian Purple Crescent Society.
The Iranian assaults have more and more focused oil and gasoline infrastructure within the Gulf, prompting issues about disruptions to world vitality markets.
In addition they have spurred condemnation from nations 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 regulation”.
The UAE intercepted 186 Iranian missiles since February 28 when the US-Israeli assaults on Iran began, in response to the nation’s Defence Ministry assertion.
“Of those, 172 missiles had been destroyed, 13 fell into the ocean, and one missile landed on the nation’s territory,” the ministry stated, including that 755 Iranian drones had been intercepted whereas 57 fell inside UAE territory.
At the least three folks have been killed within the UAE because of the assaults to date whereas 68 others suffered minor accidents, the ministry stated.
“The Ministry … affirmed that the UAE reserves its full proper to reply to this escalation and to take all obligatory measures to guard its territory, residents and residents, in a fashion that safeguards its sovereignty, safety and stability, and protects its nationwide pursuits and capabilities.”
