Top singles players escape a warzone on chartered flights.

But, players at a nearby ATP Challenger have to cough up €5,000 per person to get a ticket to safety.

And, Indian Wells gets underway on Wednesday!

Let's get you caught up on all the results, ramblings, and rigmarole from across the world of tennis.

Not subscribed yet? Sign up here!!

🚨 On Court Chaos Play is cancelled at the Fujairah Challenger after an Iranian bombing raid strikes oil facilities at the nearby port, roughly 6 miles from the tournament venue. A video captures players Daniil Ostapenkov and Hayato Matsuoka sprinting off the court as an explosion sends smoke billowing into the sky. After originally deciding to move forward with the event, the ATP announces it has cancelled both Fujairah Challengers (this week's and next week's).

🚨 The Price of Protection The ATP offers stranded Fujairah Challenger players an evacuation flight to Milan via Cairo. The cost? €5,000 per ticket, per an email shared by player Ilia Ivashka. That's more than the champion's prize money ($8,174) after taxes. Players are furious, questioning why the ATP carries no insurance for situations like this. Oh! And the flight doesn't leave until Friday.

✊ Spirited Away Andrey Rublev's mother confirms that her son, Daniil Medvedev, and Karen Khachanov all safely escape Dubai on an ATP-assisted special flight routed through Oman to Istanbul to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Holger Rune and his mother Aneke remain stranded in Doha, where Rune is rehabbing an Achilles injury. Aneke does not mince words about the Danish government's silence: "Either we are completely incapable of acting, or they are simply mocking their citizens."

⚔️ The Boys Are Back in Town The Indian Wells draw is out, and there's a lot of grand slam titles on display in the top half. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic could face each other in the semifinals of the first ATP 1000 event of the year. Alcaraz, the 2-time defending champion, opens against Grigor Dimitrov or Terence Atmane in the 2nd round. Djokovic, tied with Roger Federer at 5 Indian Wells titles, faces Kamil Majchrzak or Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his first match since the Australian Open final. Jack Draper, the defending champion returning from a left arm injury with a retooled platform serve, lurks in Djokovic's quarter.

⚔️ Women on the Verge... Aryna Sabalenka, now in her 80th week atop the rankings, arrives in Indian Wells looking for her first title after coming up short in two previous finals. Amanda Anisimova sits as the #6 seed in her quarter (H2H: Anisimova leads 6-5). On the other side, defending champion Mirra Andreeva draws a potential quarterfinal rematch with 2-time champion Iga Swiatek. Andreeva leads that H2H 2-1.

⚔️ 5 For Fighting? Speaking of Sabalenka, the reigning world #1 says she not only supports women playing 5-set matches at grand slams... she thinks it would play in her favor. Sabalenka says, "I feel like I'm physically very strong. I'm pretty sure my body could handle it."

🎾 Love the Sinner... On the bottom half of the men's draw, Jannik Sinner chases his first Indian Wells title, returning to the desert after missing last year's edition during his ban. The world #2 shares a quarter with #8 seed Ben Shelton, who carries momentum from his Dallas title. Sinner tells reporters he's working on being "a bit more aggressive from the baseline."

🏆 And the Nominees Are... Tennis dominates the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards nominations with 5 players snagging nominations across 4 categories. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are both nominated for Sportsman of the Year. Aryna Sabalenka is up for Sportswoman of the Year. Amanda Anisimova earns a Comeback of the Year nod. And 19yo Joao Fonseca is nominated for Breakthrough of the Year. The ceremony takes place at Cibeles Palace in Madrid on April 20.

🌟 Bianca 7.0 Bianca Andreescu started 2026 by going back to basics. The 2019 Indian Wells and US Open champion dropped down to the ITF level in January, racking up 2 titles. The Canadian star calls it "the Agassi route" (while sitting across from Brad Gilbert, who coached that very comeback). Andreescu arrives at Indian Wells as a wildcard, ranked #165, with a potential 2nd-round date against Coco Gauff. She's calling it version 7.0.

📰 Memphis Reborn The WTA announces the Memphis Classic, a new WTA 250 replacing Cleveland's Tennis in the Land event on the calendar. The tournament runs July 25 through August 2 at Leftwich Tennis Center and slots into the pre-US Open hard court swing. Memphis last hosts a women's tournament in 2013. (Though, as a native Atlantan... when will it be our turn again!?)

📰 Slovak Meltdown Ending with a bit of international intrigue, not a single Slovak player, man or woman, sits inside the world's top 100. And former world #12 Dominik Hrbatý is livid! The Slovak stalwart says, "Hiding behind the fact that we have fantastic juniors is a lie. Our success rate of breaking through to the adult elite is zero."

Cristina Bucsa is the tennis player who doesn't want you to find her. Spain's new #1 has no Instagram, no TikTok, no X. She was the only Top 100 player without a clothing or racquet sponsor until last year. Her father Ion, a Moldovan biathlete who competed at the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, doubles as her coach, osteopath, physio, and masseur. And when she made her Wimbledon debut in 2019 without grass court shoes (her online order arrived as sunglasses), she stuffed socks into an oversized pair from a shop near the All England Club and won a qualifying match. "I like to be free," she says. "Freedom is the best thing." Nacho Encabo's portrait for CLAY is worth the read.

Giri Nathan captures the absurdity of tennis colliding with geopolitics in a sharp piece for Defector. Daniil Medvedev wins his 23rd title by walkover, then finds himself sheltering in a hotel with beds installed in the basement. Some Dubai luxury hotels take debris from intercepted projectiles. Nathan traces the thread from Dubai back through the Gulf money pipeline that now underwrites the tour, a bet that the region stays stable enough for rich people to play tennis in warm weather.

At Indian Wells Media Day, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff light up when asked about Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu. Liu won back-to-back US Nationals at 13 and 14, retired at 16, then came back on her own terms to win Olympic gold. Gauff connects the dots to her own career: "I could highly relate as someone who was very young put into a sport. I was happy to see her be that voice saying the unsaid things that athletes think but are maybe scared to say." Courtney Nguyen captures it all at Forty Deuce.

"It's hard to stay calm when you see warplanes and helicopters flying overhead and fighter jets constantly moving." - Imanol López Morillo on sheltering at the Fujairah Challenger hotel ¹

"If we were to do that, I feel like I would probably have more grand slams." - Aryna Sabalenka on the idea of women playing 5-set matches ²

"I'm trying to, I guess, reclaim that dangerous, fearless Bianca that can really stand a chance against anyone." - Bianca Andreescu on her 2026 reinvention ³

"You realize there are things much more important in life than playing tennis. Being players we have good protection, I hope others feel the same." - Jannik Sinner on the Middle East conflict ⁴

"No one knows when we will be able to take off. We are just waiting to see what will happen in the next hours and days." - Daniil Medvedev before his escape from Dubai ⁵

BNP PARIBAS OPEN (ATP 1000) — 1st Round

◆ Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Denis Shapovalov

◆ Matteo Berrettini vs Adrian Mannarino

◆ Joao Fonseca vs Raphael Collignon

◆ Marin Cilic vs Zachary Svajda (WC)

◆ Mattia Bellucci vs Gabriel Diallo

◆ Zizou Bergs vs Jan-Lennard Struff

◆ Jenson Brooksby vs Alexei Popyrin

BNP PARIBAS OPEN (WTA 1000) — 1st Round

◆ Yulia Putintseva vs Paula Badosa

◆ Bianca Andreescu (WC) vs Kamilla Rakhimova (Q)

◆ Sloane Stephens (WC) vs Camila Osorio

◆ Jessica Bouzas Maneiro vs Beatriz Haddad Maia

◆ Ajla Tomljanovic vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse

◆ Zeynep Sonmez vs McCartney Kessler

◆ Jaqueline Cristian vs Janice Tjen

◆ Himeno Sakatsume (Q) vs Alycia Parks (WC)