ATP Media Operations Award of Excellence for the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships

The award, which reflects the feedback from players and media for the 2007 Dubai Tennis Championships, was announced at the ATP's mid-year meetings in London and marks the third such honor for Dubai since the tournament began in 1993.

Commenting on the ATP Award, Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, said:

"We have been fortunate enough to receive a total of 17 ATP awards since 1993, and in fact won the media award in that inaugural year and again in 2001. We never grow complacent about these awards as they are as good a comment as any on how the players, ATP officials and the media view our event."

Announcing the award at the recent ATP meetings in London, Brad Drewitt, CEO, International Group, acknowledged the outstanding work that the Dubai tournament does in ensuring that the standard of Media Relations is second to none. The tournament's media relations are handled by Dubai Duty Free in conjunction with Promoseven Sports Marketing.

The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships attracts media attention from around the world with over 300 representatives of the media covering the top class tennis action first hand from the Dubai Tennis Stadium. The standard of facilities available to the players, plus the access to information and to players and tournament representatives alike plays another important part in securing the 'Media Operations' award for Dubai yet again.

"We believe it is important to look after our media as much as our players," added Mr. McLoughlin. We are also proactive in ensuring good media opportunities for our players, whether through photo-opportunities or TV broadcasts, which showcase Dubai as an exciting sports and leisure destination."

The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships 2009 will once again feature the top tennis stars for whom Dubai has become one of the favourite stops on the ATP and WTA tour. The tournament, which is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will take place at the Dubai Tennis Stadium from Feb 16- 28th 2009.