Lleyton Hewitt’s son among 50 tennis players ‘stuck in a war zone’

Lleyton Hewitt’s son Cruz is among more than 50 professional tennis players stranded in the United Arab Emirates after a second-tier Challenger event was cancelled on Tuesday morning.

The live stream from the Fujairah Challenger showed players and staff running off court on Tuesday after an alert sounded at the tournament. The stoppage occurred at around the same time that a plume of smoke – believed to be the result of a drone attack – erupted from the nearby “oil industry zone” some 10 miles away. Soon afterwards, the ATP cancelled this week’s Challenger in Fujairah and next week’s event, set to be held at the same location, as well.

Frustrated players say the ATP had reconfirmed the first event as going ahead as recently as Sunday, even after initial reports of explosions in Dubai the previous day had circulated. The city has come under attack as part of Iran’s retaliation against American aggression.

One Briton – doubles specialist Fin Bass – is understood to have narrowly avoided travelling to Fujairah after his plane was delayed at Heathrow in London, but three others – Zach Stephens, Max Basing and Alastair Gray – all find themselves stranded at the player hotel with no immediate prospect of a way out of the UAE.

“Being stuck in a war zone is pretty unsettling especially when missiles are hitting oil rigs 15 kilometres from where the tournament is being played,” Gray told The Telegraph, London. “I’m pretty surprised the tournaments even started.” Gray also admitted that, while staying in Dubai on Saturday, a bomb had exploded just a couple of blocks from his hotel.

Formula One will make a call on next month’s races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia “in the next few weeks” amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The F1 season kicks off in Melbourne this weekend and already the sport has been indirectly affected by the joint US and Israel attacks against Iran, which have sparked retaliatory strikes across the region.

Close to 1000 members of staff have been forced to rearrange flights, with 500 of them due to be flown from Europe on charter planes.

The sport is scheduled to race in Bahrain on April 12 and Saudi Arabia on April 19 for rounds four and five. Both countries have been targeted by Iranian missiles.

Read more on the US-Israel-Iran war:

• Live updates: Khamenei’s son tipped as new leader
• “This isn’t Winston Churchill”: Trump sprays Starmer, says Iran decimated
• Tracking the war: Where the US struck and where Iran retaliated
• Israel attacks Lebanon: What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
• The three men to stop Trump: Who are the Islamic Republic’s interim leadership team?
• Opinion: This war is likely to be long and bloody, writes Amin Saikal

The Telegraph, London