The draw for the 2026 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has been revealed, featuring top players like Felix Auger-Aliassime and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas faces a challenging first-round match against Ugo Humbert, while Jack Draper returns after seven months. The ATP 500 event runs from February 23 to 28 on outdoor hard courts.
The 34th edition of the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai will take place at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre, with main draw action from February 23 to 28, 2026, following qualifying on February 21-22. The event features 32 players and eight seeds, with no byes in the five-round draw. Seven top-20 players are competing, including top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Bublik (2), Daniil Medvedev (3), Jack Draper (4), Andrey Rublev (5), Jakub Mensik (6), Karen Khachanov (7), and Jiri Lehecka (8).
In the top half, Auger-Aliassime opens against Zhang Zhizhen, with their head-to-head record at 1-1. He could face Lehecka in the quarter-finals, where Lehecka starts against Arthur Fils. Medvedev begins versus Shang Juncheng and may meet wildcard Stan Wawrinka or Benjamin Hassan in the second round, with a projected quarter-final against Khachanov, who plays a qualifier first.
The bottom half sees Rublev facing Valentin Royer, who replaced withdrawn Jaume Munar. Tsitsipas, the 2025 champion after defeating Auger-Aliassime in the final, meets 2024 winner Ugo Humbert in the first round; the winner could play Rublev next and Draper in the quarter-finals. Draper, absent since the 2025 US Open due to injury and recently back via Davis Cup, plays a qualifier initially, possibly facing Fabian Marozsan or Arthur Rinderknech later.
In the final quarter, Mensik takes on Hubert Hurkacz first, while Bublik starts against a qualifier. Past champions in the draw include Tsitsipas (2025), Humbert (2024), Medvedev (2023), Rublev (2022), and Wawrinka (2016), who is in his final ATP Tour season and opens against Hassan.
Key first-round matches include Fils versus Lehecka, Tsitsipas against Humbert, and Mensik facing Hurkacz. Projected quarter-finals are Auger-Aliassime vs. Lehecka, Medvedev vs. Khachanov, Rublev vs. Draper, and Mensik vs. Bublik.
