No sport gets more entrenched in global events than tennis

Dubai has been impacted by the ongoing war in the Middle East. (Getty/Muhammad Owais Khan)

For the better or worse, the nature of tennis' global tour sees it often find itself in the midst of events – celebratory, political, or crises.

The top-flight tour alone visits various cities almost every week of the year, and the tiers below – Challenger and ITF tours – span multiple continents every day. There are simply no athletes that travel quite like tennis players.

It hit me in 2025 while following the tennis tour, where so many events happened to align with major events.

Rio clashed with Carnevale preparations. Marrakech came to a halt for Eid al-Fitr celebrations. Madrid was caught in a national power outage. Rome coincided with the papal conclave. And Paris erupted into chaos as PSG won the European Champions League football title, seeing players – namely Novak Djokovic – unable to get back to their hotel.

Coincidental, of course, but the reality is: when you travel week-to-week like tennis does, you're bound to clash with global events.

The Tennis Tour Amid Global Conflict in 2026

In 2026, tennis has again been unable to separate itself from global events. This time, in much more serious circumstances.

Events in the Middle East, with the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, have further put pressure on the tennis tours, and particularly the players.

Dubai's ATP 500 event, ending in early March, was the first affected, after multiple players were left stranded in the city following the closure of its major airport.

Daniil Medvedev – one of the players unable to fly out – drove for over seven hours to Oman, where he was able to then fly to Istanbul and on to America ahead of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 event.

Days later, in the port city of Fujairah (also in the United Arab Emirates), players were forced off court from an ATP Challenger event, after an explosion was heard in the surrounding area.

Reports confirmed that a drone was intercepted in the northern part of the city, setting an oil terminal ablaze 13 kilometres from the tennis site.

22-year-old Australian James McCabe told the BBC that many players were hesitant to contest the event in the first place, but were assured by the tour that all would be under control.

"A lot of players didn't want to play in Fujairah. But the ATP made the decision that it was safe to go," McCabe told BBC Sport.

"After the oil refinery was hit, it was still in the air that we could be going back on court the next day… it took them 10 hours to cancel the tournament."

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That cancellation came alongside a letter sent to players, offering a flight out of the region, but at a cost equivalent to the tournament-winning prize money.

The Athletic shared the letter from the ATP offering players a chartered flight out of Muscat, Oman – a three-hour drive away – priced at over A$8,000, out of pocket.

The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) was quick to respond with strong criticism toward the ATP, stating that "it is inappropriate for players to bear additional financial burdens resulting from circumstances beyond their control."

The player union also offered to cover half the cost of the flight, insisting that the ATP cover the remaining amount.

The ATP later reversed course and fully funded a charter flight out for all players.

Lower-level Tennis Players are Hit Hardest

On the surface, many sports have been affected by the global conflict taking place in 2026.

But the reality is entirely different for athletes whose costs are not covered by a team or organisation.

Formula One – notably the other individual sporting tour with a global circuit comparable to tennis – has cancelled two of its races in the Middle East well ahead of time. But for a sport that packs its whole circuit – players, teams, and cars – onto a series of cargo planes and private jets to travel city-to-city, the burden of cost is far from on the players.

For all but the absolute top echelon of tennis players, they're not flying private. In fact, outside the top 30, they're not even at the front of the plane.

Aussie Adam Walton, who reached the ATP top 100 in 2025, told The First Serve that when on the ATP Challenger tour, he was always taking the cheapest flight route available.

"I might've had to do two or three stopovers, whereas now, if there's a direct or a one-stop flight, even if it's a bit more, I'd still maybe do it," he explained.

That decision remains ever-present for tennis players in 2026, with airline costs continuing to soar.

The Wall Street Journal reported that global flight prices rose by 2.7 per cent in March, after jumping 1.4 per cent in February, and fares are now up 14.9 per cent over the past 12 months.

For tennis players flying weekly – often last-minute and long-haul – it's a significant jump in expenses, and one not balanced by a rise in earnings.

Put simply, the tennis tour now stretches across an increasingly complex global landscape, and many events continue to be staged in regions that can be difficult to access or pose a safety risk.

For lower-ranked players, who are already self-funding large parts of their careers, rising costs only amplify that challenge.

It is a reality that defines life outside the top of the game, and in 2026, it is more pronounced than ever.

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