Medvedev, others stuck in Dubai get out, plan to play Indian Wells

The three highly ranked professional players who were stranded in Dubai have found a way out of the region and are planning to make it to Indian Wells and play in the BNP Paribas Open, according to multiple reports.

The ATP confirmed in a statement late Tuesday night that: "The vast majority of players who were in Dubai have successfully departed today on selected flights. The safety and wellbeing of our players, support teams and staff members remains our highest priority, and we continue to remain in close contact with those affected."

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Though not listed by name, it appears that the three highly ranked Russian players — Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev — are among those that have departed Dubai.

They also are intending to make it to Indian Wells as early as Wednesday in some cases, in that all three of them are now showing up on the tournament's practice court schedule for Wednesday and Thursday, when they had not been listed before. Rublev and Khachanov player their first match Friday, Medevedev's first match will be Saturday.

The details of their exodus from Dubai have not been revealed, but Rublev's mother said on Instagram that the three players were driven to Oman and flew to Istanbul.

The ATP stars had been stuck in Dubai following an ATP tournament that ended Saturday. Unable to fly out due to the dangerous unrest in the region, it was unclear if they would make it to Indian Wells in time.

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With Tuesday being media day several players were asked abut the difficult circumstances that can come from dropping into different parts of the world in the course of the year, not knowing what the political climate might be like.

"It's tough, for sure. You know, this last tour I had friends playing in a tournament in Mexico with a lot of conflict, friends in the Middle East playing there still, people that are stuck over there," said American Ben Shelton. "It's brutal to think about some of that. We talk about it all the time, obviously praying for all the people, families affected and people who are stuck in tough situations right now. Yeah, it certainly isn't easy, and it is something that's on all of our minds."

The United States and Israel began striking Iran Feb. 28 in a campaign that killed the nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and dozens of top officials and hit more than 1,000 targets inside the country, President Donald Trump said. Iran has retaliated with strikes against U.S. military bases, Israel and other nations in the Middle East.

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Asked if he ever feels unsafe during the course of his tennis travels, World No. 2 Jannik Sinner weighed in.

"You know, there are certain things we cannot control really, and this is definitely one of them. I do think and believe that ATP and everyone is trying to do the best possible choices, to feel as safe as possible, and that's the only thing I can say really, no?" said Sinner, a 24-year-old Italian. "I obviously hope that everyone is safe and they can come here to play or go home. It depends what they want to do. But, you know, 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, you know. Yeah, I do believe we have good protection around us, being as a player, and I hope other players feel the same way."

More: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka gets engaged in Indian Wells

All three players were placed in the draw, which was created Monday as BNP Paribas Open officials went about the business of the tournament as though the three players would make it. Men's main draw action begins Wednesday, but seeded players like Medvedev (11), Khachanov (16) and Rublev (17) won't play their first match until the second round.

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Rublev and Medvedev were supposed to be part of the Eisenhower Cup, a mixed doubles Tiebreak Tens event on Tuesday night in Indian Wells, but they were replaced in the event by Learner Tien and Alexander Bublik.

There were five other pros reportedly marooned in Dubai — Tallon Griekspoor, Harri Heliovaara, Henry Patten, Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic. Arevalo and Pavic are the defending BNP Paribas Open doubles champions and would be in the field in Indian Wells this year if they can make it, but there is no update on the status of these five players.

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