Sawt Falasteen - Tennis world rocked by Middle East war as Indian Wells begins

Dozens of international tennis players are gathering this week on the opposite side of the world in the California desert for the prestigious annual men's and women's tournaments that begin Wednesday.

Currently absent are the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who have been trying to leave Dubai since Saturday, with thousands of flights from the Middle East canceled due to Iranian missiles and drones.

British star Jack Draper told reporters in Indian Wells that he had been in Dubai last week and "managed to get away almost probably one of the last flights out."

"I just hope the players and all the staff within the ATP are able to make it here, or the main thing is that they're safe.

"It's obviously a very concerning situation for all involved, and I hope they can make it here."

At least two tournaments in the United Arab Emirates were canceled after play was interrupted due to drone strikes on nearby refineries, with falling debris from the interception of a drone causing a fire in an oil field.

Simultaneously a major tennis tournament in Acapulco, Mexico starring the likes of Alexander Zverev went ahead last week even as the recent killing of a drug lord triggered deadly violence across the country.

"It's brutal to think about some of that," said American star Ben Shelton, who like many players at Indian Wells has friends "stuck" in the Middle East.

"We talk about it all the time... it is something that's on all of our minds," he told a press conference.

The US and Israel on Saturday launched strikes on Tehran that killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian figures, followed by days of air and missile raids.

Iran's armed forces responded with aerial attacks on Israel, US embassies and military bases and on its Arab neighbors around the Gulf.

A small number of players at the Dubai ATP 500 were unable to leave, as the men's and women's global tours shift to California for the Masters and WTA 1000 in Indian Wells.

ATP, the men's tour's governing body, did not immediately respond to AFP request for comment after a Russian media report said Medvedev and Rublev had eventually been able to leave the Middle East via Oman.

"The health, safety and well-being of our players, staff and tournament personnel is our priority... We are in direct communication with those affected," the ATP had said in an earlier statement on social media.

Men's world number two Jannik Sinner on Tuesday said he hopes "that everyone is safe and they can come here to play or also to go home."

"There are certain scenarios we cannot control, so I tried of course to be focused, but you also realize that there are much more important things in life than playing tennis," he added.

M.Qasim--SF-PST