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How one late Dubai expat built the biggest tennis tournament in Middle East
The late Colm McLoughlin's inspirational leadership helped the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships attain near-mythic status over the years
- PUBLISHED: Tue 18 Feb 2025, 6:06 PM
It’s that time of the year again when the Who’s Who of world tennis vie for glory at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. While the big names are once again trading shots on the majestic centre court, there is also an acute sense of loss that has enveloped those at the stadium who have been a part of this beautiful journey.
For the first time in history, the most famous tennis championships in the Middle East are taking place without the man who created it all those years ago in 1993.
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Colm McLoughlin, the former Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the Dubai Duty Free who passed away last October at 81, was the man whose inspirational leadership helped the tennis tournament attain near-mythic status over the years.
From attracting the best players of the world every year and getting the iconic Andre Agassi and Roger Federer to play an exhibition game on the Burj Al Arab helipad to introducing equal prize money for women’s players in the tournament’s WTA week, McLoughlin left an indelible mark.
“Tennis was Colm and Colm was tennis. He was the person who decided to bring this tournament to Dubai,” said Sinead El Sibai, Senior Vice President - Marketing, Dubai Duty Free.
El Sibai revealed that the Dubai Duty Free was offered a chance to host an exhibition tennis tournament in the early 1990s.
But McLoughlin, who left his native Ireland in 1983 to help set up the Dubai Duty Free operations, always wanted to build something bigger for the sports industry in the UAE.
“He felt tennis was a good fit for Dubai. Also, it was one of our responsibilities to promote Dubai back in the 1990s, so he, along with a few other gentlemen, played a key role in bringing the tournament to Dubai,” El Sibai recalled.
The first edition of the tournament was played in 1993 before the women’s week was added in 2001.
Then in 2005, under McLoughlin's leadership, the women’s event, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this week, also became one of the first tournaments outside of the Grand Slams to introduce equal prize money for female players.
“Colm was very happy, the first year (1993), everything was a learning curve. We had a temporary stadium and there were some weather challenges as well,” El Sibai said.
“But we all were so happy and relieved when it was done. And our patron Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum came to the prize presentation, and Colm was so happy, but he always wanted to do better and better, so we decided to build a permanent stadium.”
Boris Becker was the first superstar in the 1990s who came here for this tournament.
“We had Boris play here for two years. Then Colm had a very special relationship with Roger,” El Sibai said of the tournament’s ability to draw the biggest names every year.
While the event grew from strength to strength, McLoughlin also encouraged UAE national Salah Tahlak, Tournament Director and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, to take up a leadership role in the tennis championships.
“I owe a lot to him, he gave me a lot of support, he gave me a lot of confidence, he gave me a lot of respect. That was so important for me. His legacy will always stay in my heart,” the tournament director said.
Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free and Chairman of the tournament’s Organising Committee, said McLoughlin’s business acumen was also key to the success of the tennis event.
“He not only looked after the tournament, but also looked after the business because the most important thing is to take care of the retail business. Events like this tennis tournament we can do is only because we have a successful retail business,” Cidambi said.
“We grew this business from a 20-million dollar business to a 2-billion dollar business in 2018 and that was the foundation for us to be able to do events like this.”
Meanwhile, what Sharad Arora, a former line official at the tournament, will always remember about McLoughlin was his humility.
“He will always come out of his way to shake hands with you, he was a gem of a person,” said the 75-year-old Indian expat who completed 50 years as a UAE resident on August 6, 2024.
“I personally feel what he has done for the tournament and Dubai by bringing tennis to this region is just incredible.”
Rituraj Borkakoty is Sports Editor and has spent more than two decades writing on his sporting heroes. He also loves an underdog story, so if you have one, share it with him. He would love to bring it to life.